Harry Potter and the Flip of a Niccal
by KashianXanthe
Summary: This is a Harry Potter/Gorillaz crossover. What happens when Harry escapes his cupboard and tries to run away from his horrible life in Little Whinging? Will Murdoc Niccals be his unlikely savior? Or is the evil bassist just out for his own personal gain? And just how does old Mudsy know about the magical world anyway? Stay tuned! Starts Sorcerer's Stone/Phase 1.
1. Chapter 1

**Harry Potter and the Flip of a Niccal**

 _By: KKM_

 _Disclaimer:_ I do not own the _Harry Potter_ series or any associated characters. _Harry Potter_ is © J. K. Rowling. I also do not own the _Gorillaz_ or any associated characters/songs. _Gorillaz_ are © Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.

* * *

 **Summary:**

This is a _Harry Potter/Gorillaz_ crossover. What happens when Harry escapes his cupboard and tries to run away from his horrible life in Little Whinging? Will Murdoc Niccals be his unlikely savior? Or is the evil bassist just out for his own personal gain? And just how does old Mudsy know about the magical world anyway? Stay tuned!

 **Side Note:** Timeline-wise I'm moving the HP timeline to where _The Sorcerer's Stone_ starts at Phase 1 of Gorillaz so the years will follow the Gorillaz timeline but I plan for the events of both story lines to all intertwine. So you will see how things in the Wizarding timeline are effecting what's going on into the Gorillaz timeline and vice versa. Hopefully that clears everything up. Ages: Harry 11, Noodle 10, StuPot 22, Russel 25, Murdoc 34.

* * *

 **Chapter 1: The Cupboard under the Stairs**

Private Drive in Little Whinging had always been a pristine location in the eyes of prime real estate. Each little house was situated perfectly parallel to one another and each yard was a flush, immaculate green. There wasn't a single lawn left un-mowed nor a single weed out of place and that's just how its inhabitants liked it. Even those who lived there seemed well groomed and mild mannered. As far as the neighbors were concerned, it was the perfect place to be without a single trouble in the world.

But there was one blemish – _the Potter boy_.

Oh, his relatives seemed nice enough. Petunia Dursleys was a bit thin, but then again she did have to cook and care for her own family plus one. Vernon seemed to have a temper on him. Sometimes his bark sounded a bit like an enraged walrus. Who could blame him? He was having to work extra hours to support the extra child in their home and with that most likely came stress. Their son Dudley seemed a bit on the round side perhaps. However, he was a growing boy and growing boys needed to eat to grow big and strong!

No, the Dursleys were a good, upstanding family. What, with taking in that Potter boy they had to be… They were charitable and optimistic about the boy that was for certain. From the gossip of the neighborhood, the Potters had been a loud obnoxious sort; died in a car crash. They were drunks most likely. Their boy was just as bad. Always talking back to the family who'd given up every shred of decency to give him a proper home. They were obviously under-appreciated for their efforts.

Sure every now and then the small slip of a boy could be seen tending the garden in his baggy shirts and ripped jeans. But he never seemed to do it without complaint. He just seemed uncivilized compared to the rest of his family. It was a general census that the problem was with the breeding. Once an uncouth hooligan, always an uncouth hooligan. And now there was talk that the boy was having troubles at school. Poor Petunia. How did she make due?

He was a rogue little upstart… a _freak_.

Harry let out a sad sigh as he stared at the dark ceiling of his cupboard. Not long ago the clock had chimed signaling the start of his eleventh birthday, and yet he felt no joy at the thought. He supposed his life wasn't all bad even if Petunia had poisoned the neighborhood against him. Even with all the grueling work he was forced to do, he at least had a mattress to call his own and a couple of toys and small possessions to try and pass his time with. But he was lonely and desperately wished he could have one of those loving families he saw everytime he snuck a look at the telly.

He wasn't daft, he _knew_ how they treated him wasn't in any way normal. He'd learned at school that other children received all three meals and sometimes more. He was aware that most parental figures hugged their children instead of smacking them around and forcing them into child-labor. He even saw how they treated Dudley as if the sun shined from his arse and could do no wrong. But not him. Harry was never good enough for that kind of special treatment.

He'd tried everything he could think of when he was younger to please them and hopefully change their hatred of him. But nothing had worked. Even trying to act pleasant toward them seemed to trigger their disdain. If he was too nice to them, they would just think he was up to something and punish him anyway. He couldn't depend on teachers to save him either as Petunia had already put in the _good word_ for him about his lies and fantasies before he'd even stepped foot in front of them.

The worst was when something _freakish_ would happen. When he was much younger he could always remember _strange_ things happening like when Dudley's teddy exploded in a ball of fluff because he wasn't allowed to play with it or when Uncle Vernon's belts mysteriously vanished for a week after threatening Harry within an inch of his life after he'd accidentally broken their new coffee pot. As he got older, the more pronounced these strange occurrences seemed to be. His hair would grow seemingly overnight if his aunt tried to cut it. One of his teacher's wigs turned blue after she'd given him a rather lengthy lecture about chewing gum in class. Dudley's more hideous hand-me-downs would suddenly be too small to fit him. There was even one time he'd ended up on the roof after trying to outrun his cousin and his small group of thugs!

Harry would have found all of these events mildly interesting if it hadn't meant he'd get whooped before being shoved carelessly in his cupboard each time without dinner. Harry began to see this instances as more of a threat to his well-being than have any interest in finding out why these odd things kept happening to him. Why couldn't whatever it was just once help him escape this prison? He was so tired and lonely…

Suddenly he perked up in his little bed as he heard a faint click coming from his door. He cocked his head to the side and listened to the still house curiously, not daring to believe he'd heard right. Nothing seemed to move. He couldn't even hear the normal groans or creaks of the house. Everyone seemed to be sound asleep. Harry held his breath and watched with rapt fascination as he gently nudged the door open. His bed squeaked a little as he silently rolled off of it and cautiously stepped out from the cramped cupboard. Harry had always been small for his age, but the space was vastly becoming smaller to him with each passing day.

Harry found himself in a now very tempting situation as he stood between his cupboard and the imposing monstrosity known as the front door. His ears were still focused on the soundless house as he stared longingly at the barrier that was separating him from freedom. He wondered vaguely if this was a dream and pinched himself, yet he was still standing there. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearing two in the morning. It was no wonder everyone was still asleep.

He gulped as he took a tentative step forward. What did he have to lose by trying this, really? At most if he was caught he would get a well-deserved beating and be locked in tight for a day with no food. That was worth it wasn't it? To escape the hateful eyes of their nosey neighbors and to leave and never return to his relatives who had never liked him anyway? It was the one thing he'd wished for every birthday and now he suddenly had the chance of a lifetime.

He carefully undid the deadbolt and unlocked the main knob before opening it just enough and sliding into the chilly night. "I can't believe it," he muttered to himself with a sigh as he leaned his back against the door for a moment almost dizzied by what he'd just done. But then he seemed to snap out of it as he looked around noting that no one seemed to be up and about this time of morning. He should probably go now if he was going to at all.

As he quickly walked away from Private drive, he vaguely wished he had thought to put some shoes on his socked feet or maybe put on something more than the thin, worn pajamas he was still clad in. But he didn't let that deter him as he walked as far away as his feet would take him.

About an hour later, he knew that he wasn't in the best part of town. He could see an old rusty sign down the way that signaled he was close to Spinner's End which was where his aunt had always told him "the nasty sort" tended to live. He was getting tired and his breath was coming out in little short puffs as he looked around for a place to rest. His emerald eyes sparkled a bit when he spotted a small overgrown playground with a swing set. It wasn't much, but that swing looked comfortable enough to relax in for a moment. Making up his mind, he hurried over and plopped down before resting his forehead against the rusty chain in relief.

He barely took any notice of the two men that were paused a short distance away at the street corner. Their voices were low as they muttered to one another and seemed to trade something and then broke away from one another. The shorter of the two began to walk away as the taller stayed on the corner a moment longer before turning toward Spinner's End.

"Oi, wot's 'is?" the man's suspicious voice caught Harry by surprise as he looked up to see a grungy looking man with dirty blonde hair and rotting teeth. The man was staggering over toward him with a menacing twitch. "Oo are you and whadaya' doin' on my turf, kid? Did Philly send ya' ter spy on me?"

"N-no, sir." Harry stuttered as he slipped from the swing and slowly backed away. "I don't know a Philly…" he trailed off.

"Speak right proper now, don't ya'?" the crazed looking man said before fixing him with an accusing glare. "You _are_ one o' Philly's! Ya' tryina' steal my customers! Well I got's a message fo' Philly, boy," he threatened stepping closer. He seemed to take great delight when the small boy lost his footing and fell backwards next to the swing. He watched as the small boy's eyes widened in horror as the man took out a switchblade from his jacket pocket. "C'mere kid, this won't hurt a bi-"

Harry stared up in awe as several things seemed to happen at once. A bright flash of red light blinded his vision as the scary man let out a yelp of pain and was practically blasted away from him at least ten feet. Harry winced a bit as he heard the sickening crack of the man's head connecting with the sturdy metal of the slide he collided into. Blinking rapidly, Harry stared too shocked to move.

"You okay, kid?" a raspy voice asked causing Harry's head to jerk to the side. The youth's mouth nearly dropped open as he was met with the sight of the most terrifying man he'd ever seen. He had wild, bloodshot eyes with crazed looking mismatched pupils. Harry wondered if the one was infected as it was a rather alarming shade of red. The bags under this man's eyes were defined and puffy. His limp hair was short and greasy looking. His skin looked like it might have been pale once, but was currently taking on a sickly hue of green. Even his clothes looked stained and un-kept. This was definitely not the kind of man his family would have associated with, that much was for sure. And yet, Harry couldn't help but find himself staring up at the man in queer fascination.

That's when the man's words seemed to catch up with Harry's overwhelmed mind and he realized the rough looking man was asking him a question. "Uh, yeah. S-sorry, um…" he quickly scrambled to get up and cleared his throat before trying to appear presentable which was a lost cause as he was quite filthy now from his tumble. "T-thanks, sir," he said politely, watching as the man's eyes seemed to take in his curious choice of outfit.

"Sir?" the man laughed a wheezing croak of a sound, "'Been a long time since someone called me 'sir.' Not from around 'ere are yeh? This innit a safe place for tots li' you, kid," the man said after a moment before taking out a silver zippo and lighting a cigarette. Harry watched in fascination as the man inhaled deeply before releasing a cloud of smoke that curled all around him making him look even tougher than before. "Betta' run back to wherever yeh came from."

"I can't," Harry found himself saying, his small fingers fidgeting with the hem of his slightly large pajama top. "They won't miss a freak like me," he muttered, looking down at his dirty socked feet with a frown.

The older man quirked his brow at the kid's choice of words and shrugged. "You runnin' away? Won't get far without shoes," he snickered, taking another puff of his cancer stick before looking nostalgic. "It's a nice effort though. Reminds me of the good ol' days when I'd sneak away from me Pop until that blasted Hannibal would rat me out." He looked decidedly sour at that thought and snorted, "Fuckin' poof."

Harry found himself laughing before he could stop himself. Such language was completely unheard of where he was from. In fact this man was probably everything he'd been warned against as a child – the very definition of freakishness. Yet, Harry couldn't help but be drawn to his strange looking savior.

"Hn, maybe you're no' so bad after all." The man smirked before tossing his cigarette down and stepping on the butt. "Anyways, you betta' run off befo' that oaf wakes back up. E' may not go so easy on ya' next time if he thinks yer scarin' his clients away."

"Clients?" Harry asked, not really sure what the man was talking about. "I really don't know what he was on about. I don't know a Philly," he insisted, then sighed. "I don't really have a place to go, but I refuse to go back to my relatives. The only thing they want me for is a whipping boy and they'll just lock me up again."

The older man gave the boy a searching look at that and shifted his stance a little as he thought things over. His eyes seemed to linger on the boy's almost _too_ slim form. "Well, yeh can't stay here, kid. It's too dangerous 'round here," he said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "What's your name, kid?"

"Harry," he answered bravely, sticking out his hand in greeting. The man did save his life after all so he felt he was doing the right thing. "Harry Potter."

The man's eyes widened slightly as his mismatched pupils strangely darted to the scar on his forehead as if he already knew where to look. But before Harry could question his reaction, the man had thrust his own curiously clawed hand at him and shook it vigorously. "Murdoc Niccals, at yer service," he practically purred, his voice suddenly taking on the oily quality of a salesman as he grinned like a shark circling its prey. "How would yeh li' to come back with me and meet me band?"

"B-band, sir?" Harry asked bewildered at the sudden change.

"That's righ' kid," Murdoc said arrogantly as he stood a little straighter. "You're talkin' to the _leader_ of the world famous _Gorillaz_. Now, now let's be on our way an' while we're at it you can tell me why yeh ran away from these relative o' yers."

"But where are we going?" Harry asked.

"Why to _Kong_ of course," Murdoc said knowingly, pausing only to pluck something from the nearly forgotten crumpled body next to the rusty slide before turning and striding away with a skip in his step. Harry waited only a moment before hurrying to catch up with his new friend and silently marveled about how this was his most interesting birthday yet.

* * *

 **A/N:** And there you have it! The start of what will be a very long adventure. I've seen a few _Harry Potter/Gorillaz_ cross overs and found that I liked the idea but wanted more depth so plan on eradicating this issue and making a story of my own.

Let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

**Harry Potter and the Flip of a Niccal**

 _By: KKM_

 _Disclaimer:_ I do not own the _Harry Potter_ series or any associated characters. _Harry Potter_ is © J. K. Rowling. I also do not own the _Gorillaz_ or any associated characters/songs. _Gorillaz_ are © Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.

* * *

 **Last Time:**

 _"B-band, sir?" Harry asked bewildered at the sudden change._

 _"That's righ' kid," Murdoc said arrogantly as he stood a little straighter. "You're talkin' to the leader of the world famous Gorillaz. Now, now let's be on our way an' while we're at it you can tell me why yeh ran away from these relative o' yers."_

 _"But where are we going?" Harry asked._

 _"Why to Kong of course," Murdoc said knowingly, pausing only to pluck something from the nearly forgotten crumpled body next to the rusty slide before turning and striding away with a skip in his step. Harry waited only a moment before hurrying to catch up with his new friend and silently marveling about how this was his most interesting birthday yet._

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Meet the _Gorillaz_**

The ride from _Spinner's End_ was a lot quieter than Murdoc had initially expected when he'd hailed a taxi to take him and the small boy home. He'd expected for the young boy to ramble or ask a thousand questions like most children tended to do, but instead as they sat in the back seat together he was met with silence. He frowned as he watched young Harry simply look out of the foggy window and watch the neighborhoods whir by until there was nothing but trees as they made their way to the solitude that was _Kong Studios_.

It wasn't long before the singular structure finally came into view surrounded on one side by a giant landfill and the other by an old creepy looking cemetery. He watched the boy's emerald eyes widen in wonder and slight nervousness and yet still he did not speak. He couldn't help but wonder what was going through his young mind as they passed the rickety gate and drove up to a building only a horror-enthusiast could love.

"This is _Kong_?" Harry asked, finally breaking the silence as his eyes darted back to Murdoc. Murdoc smirked back at him in response and nodded.

"This is us, kid," he chuckled as the taxi came to a stop. He quickly paid the cab driver and then led Harry through the entrance of the carpark. "Watch yeh step an' mind tha' zombies!"

"Z-zombies!?" Harry paled, wondering just what he'd gotten himself into. Normally he would've snickered at such a crazy thing to say, but considering this building looked to be the definition of haunted, his overactive imagination was getting to him and he immediately moved closer to the green man. For a second, he even thought he saw the luminescent glow of eyes twinkling at him from somewhere deep in the shadows.

"No worries, you're too much of a toothpick for 'em ter bother much wit ya," he promised, not at all helping ease the child's nerves as they continued on. "In yeh go," he nudged Harry forward as they approached the lift. "S'not gonna' bite ya, you know…" Murdoc tried to assure him as Harry cautiously entered the small space closely followed by the older man. Once they were situated, the rusty door squeaked shut and the lift gave a groan before shuddering upwards.

"Are you entirely sure this thing is safe?" Harry muttered, widening his gait a little in an attempt to keep his balance.

"Honestly? No." the bassist laughed as a bell dinged somewhere above them and the monstrosity came to a sudden stop. When the door didn't open right away, he gave an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes. "This 'appens sometimes," he said before aiming a heavy kick with his worn Italian leather boots at the door causing Harry to jump with a start. But it seemed to do the trick as the rusty door slid open. He turned to Harry with another pointy toothed smirk as they exited the lift. "See? Tha' wasn't so-"

"MUDS! YOU'RE HOME!" A gleeful shout interrupted him as a tall skinny form with a shock of blue hair and no eyes came running at them with a giant toothless grin.

"AHHHHHHHH, ZOMBIE!" Harry screamed, Murdoc's words from earlier echoing in his ears as he grabbed the closest thing to him (which happened to be a bent golf club that had been leaning against the wall) and swung it as hard as he could at the clueless threat before anyone could do anything to stop him.

 _CRACK!_

"Tha' fuck!?"The tall man fell heavily to the floor with a whimpered squeak and covered his head with his lanky arms as the little boy went for another terrified swing only to have another figure run up from out of nowhere and roundhouse kick the golf club from his grasp causing him to fall back with a thump of his own as he stared up in surprise at a strange looking kid who was standing protectively over the zombie-man with a pose he only recognized from ninja movies on the telly.

"What the hell is going on in here?" a rich voice boomed as the biggest man Harry had ever seen suddenly burst into the room and that was saying something considering he'd lived with his Uncle Vernon and Dudley his whole life. When the large man's white, pupiless eyes seemed to fix angrily on his little figure he felt himself scoot back as far as he could until his back collided with Murdoc's legs. When he felt the other man shaking slightly behind him he looked up to see if the other man was planning on saving him or not.

Murdoc for the most part felt that he had done very well for himself in keeping his composure, but as he looked down from Harry's bewildered expression to his fallen friend who was now peeking over the little Ninja's shoulder in pained exasperation and then finally to the large man in the doorway who looked about ten seconds from charging, he found he could no longer contain his mirth as a choked laugh escaped his shaking shoulders and he smacked his knee. "Ah, s-shit. The _looks_ on yer faces!" he chortled and then mused Harry's hair almost affectionately. "Even _I_ couldn't 'ave planned it betta, kid."

Harry blinked up at him in confusion before looking back at the blue haired man who was now sporting a giant bruise on his cheek as he continued to hide behind the ninja who Harry now realized was a mere _girl_ somewhere around his age. "Soooo… he _wasn't_ a zombie then…" he trailed off, turning red in embarrassment.

"Satan, _no!_ " Murdoc laughed, helping the boy back to his feet before gesturing a clawed hand at the ragtag group in front of him. "These are the _Gorillaz_ ; my band," he explained, his mismatched eyes shining.

"Murdoc, what the hell are you up to now?" the big man grumbled as he entered the room further and peered at them with suspicion.

"Now, now Russ. Is 'at any way teh treat a guest?" Murdoc chided slyly as he pushed a reluctant Harry forward. "This is 'Arry. Found the little bugga' lost in _Spinner's End_ of all places." As he spoke, Harry couldn't help but feel that Murdoc wasn't very good at reassuring people because if anything, the large man looked even more on edge at this information.

"That doesn't really explain why he's _here._ " Russel pointed out with narrowed eyes, but when he looked back down at the obviously very uncomfortable child, his gaze softened. "Hi Harry, I'm Russel. I'm in charge of the beats," he said, finally giving in and smiling as pretended to play an invisible drum.

"N-nice to meet you," Harry said nervously, gulping a little before turning his attention back to the tall skinny man who by now was standing and rubbing his cheek as the little girl stood defensively in front of him eyeing Harry with distrust. "Um… Sorry about that. I didn't expect anyone to come running at us looking like… well…" he wasn't sure how to finish that sentence without being rude. He took a shy step forward only to be blocked again by the small ninja.

"Kare kara hanarete taizai shimasu!" the other child huffed protectively, spreading her arms as if to say that the frail looking man was off limits. Harry wasn't really sure what to say in response to that. He'd never heard Japanese before so it just sounded like gibberish to him, but he understood the threat all the same and looked down at the floor in shame.

" _Noodle,_ " Russel warned, giving her a look as if to say _behave_. The girl known as Noodle pouted up at him for a moment before sighing and dropping her stance. "This is Noodle. She's our lead guitarist and does backups sometimes. We think she can understand most English, but she doesn't really speak it much," he shrugged apologetically.

"Hajimemashite," she bowed, keeping eye contact with Harry as she did so. "Watashi wa Noodle desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu."

"Uh, you too?" Harry said, hoping he was doing the right thing as he quickly bowed to her. She giggled at him and offered him a small smile.

"Kare ni i koto. Kare wa shinsetsu ni ataishimasu," she said to Harry solemnly before moving to allow him to talk to the last band member who was now staring off blankly at a wall. Harry fidgeted a bit waiting, but the man continued on as if the peeled paint was the most interesting thing in the world.

"Oi, _Faceache!_ " Murdoc shouted impatiently as he stepped around Harry and smacked 2D upside the head to snap him out of it. Harry looked slightly aghast by the display until the taller man suddenly jumped and became reanimated as he blinked at his leader a few times and grinned stupidly at him.

"Oh, hiya Muds!" he greeted cheerfully causing Murdoc to groan and rub his forehead in exasperation.

"Jus' introduce yerself already!" he demanded, crossing his arms and nodding towards Harry who was watching them owlishly through his round glasses. 2D's head moved in Harry's direction giving the boy the assumption that he was being stared at, though it was hard to tell with a man whose eyes seemed to be missing.

"Hi, I'm Stu, but they call me 2D cuz I gots these dents you see," 2D explained, leaning down so that either Harry could get a better look or so that he could see Harry better – the boy wasn't terribly sure to be honest. But because of this, he did find that 2D really did have eyes they were just really dark and sunk in apparently.

"I'm sorry about hitting you," Harry blushed again as he resisted backing away from the close proximity. "Murdoc had just joked about zombies in the carpark before we came up and this place is kind of spooky looking so you startled me."

"S'not a joke," 2D corrected him, finally standing up straight again. "There _are_ zombies. I'm jus' not one of 'em," he said simply. When Harry stayed silent at the strange omission, he bit his lip nervously and tried again. "I'm the band's singa' and I do teh keyboard," he said wiggling his fingers a bit. "Don' be too hard on yo'self 'bout clubbin' me an' all. I get tha' reaction a lo' at first when I meet new people fo' some reason," he admitted, scratching his head awkwardly.

Harry frowned at this statement and gave the man a knowing look. "I get that sometimes too, though not really with a club," he admitted, carefully stepping closer and patting 2D on the arm. "My relatives didn't exactly treat me like I was normal, so I understand." For such a young face, Harry's expression had gone rather serious just then as he seemed to be lost in his thoughts for a moment. What the others didn't know was that he was thinking about how often the Dursleys had called him a freak over the years and treated him poorly just for being himself. The man in front of him probably dealt with a lot worse ridicule every day from people who didn't even know him. Harry didn't want to add that pain if he could avoid it so instead he made a silent vow to befriend him.

"Noodle, 2D… maybe you guys can go pick out a room for Harry," Russel suggested, glancing at Murdoc.

"Hn, yes. While you lot are gone we'll sort Harry out," Murdoc agreed, narrowing his eyes and giving the two a pointed look that meant he expected them to stay gone while they talked to Harry. 2D yelped in response and tittered nervously. But before he was able to say something to piss the bassist off he was being dragged away by the young guitarist and they disappeared down the hall. "Tha's betta," Murdoc muttered before turning back to Harry and Russel. "Right! So let's continue this discussion in tha' kitchen, shall we?"

"We know you're probably tired, Harry, but we really should talk about some things if you're going to stay here," Russel said gently as they followed Murdoc to a rather spacious looking kitchen.

Murdoc immediately plopped down at the round table in the center and began to light a cigarette as he kicked his feet up without a care in the world. Harry slid into the seat next to him and watched as Russel shook his head before grabbing a plate of cookies and setting it in the center of the table and plopped down into a chair of his own. If the table shook a bit, Harry didn't notice as he was eyed the cookies at the table longingly wondering how delicious they must taste. "Well, take one," Murdoc ordered in a rough voice as he exhaled and moved to sit up straight so that he could watch the boy better.

Harry didn't need to be told twice as he immediately took one and nibbled on it with a pleased sigh. He closed his eyes as savored the taste with a near silent moan. It was better than he imagined. Yes, it was slightly more crunchy than he'd expected but the chocolate was sweet and seemed to melt into his taste buds. As he did this, he had no idea that the two adults at the table were watching him with concern. The _Gorillaz_ were never good at keeping up with dates or grocery shopping – always waiting until the pantries were practically empty before making the pillage for more. Those cookies had to be at _least_ a month old and yet this kid was acting like he was munching on something made of gold. If that wasn't a red bell, they didn't know what was.

"Harrrrry," Murdoc spoke his name in a low drawl waiting until he had the kid's full attention. Then he passed Harry another cookie as if to give him positive reinforcement before speaking again. "Tell us why you ran away."

Harry knew that this conversation was coming, but that didn't make this conversation any easier. "Well, I guess I ran away because I knew they wouldn't care. I doubt they've even told anyone yet. I know it's early, but Aunt Petunia's usually up by now. She'd have noticed my cu-" he cut himself off and cleared his throat, "my _room_ was unlocked."

Murdoc and Russel shared a look at the child's blatant lie. There was something more to that statement. Murdoc shifted forward leaning on his elbows with a serious look on his face as he quickly stubbed his cigarette out and gave Harry his full undivided attention. "You can't stay 'ere if you lie 'bout it," he said in a slow deliberate voice causing Harry's mouth to drop open and Russel to make a sharp sound of protest. "I mean it," he growled, cutting off Russel's complaints. "If ya' want our help, you gotta' be straight or we'll make yeh go back."

Harry looked positively devastated as he dropped the cookie and gave Murdoc a pained look. _"Please don't send me back_ ," he begged in the most desperate voice either man had ever heard. "I'll do _anything_ , just please don't send me there."

"Then let's try this again," Murdoc suggested calmly. " _Where_ did your aunt expect you to be?" Harry stayed silent a moment, his shoulders hunched forward in defeat. His small shoulders began to tremble as he mumbled something under his breath. "Sorry, Din' quite catch tha'." Murdoc encouraged as both he and Russel leaned closer trying to hear the distraught child.

"My _cupboard,"_ Harry whispered, ignoring their gasps. "I live in a bloody cupboard under the stairs like a rat. Is that what you wanted to hear?" he bit out, looking up at them with angry tears and pink cheeks. "Did you also want to hear about how they treat me like a slave and if I don't act accordingly they starve me? Or how about how the beat me for being a little freak like my parents and then lock me up until they can stomach looking at me? Not to mention what they do when crazy things happen. But crazy things _always_ happen around me and I get punished dearly for it," he shuddered.

By the time he finished, a strange aura seemed to pulse around him causing the room to tremble a bit from the pressure. As it did so, his hair fluttered a bit making his scar visible for the first time to Russel and his milky gaze widened a fraction. This would have surprised Murdoc if he'd been paying attention, but instead his own eyes were fixed on the angry boy and the raw power he was exuding from his emotional outburst. He'd never seen such a powerful display of accidental magic before and he was worried that if they continued, the boy might be pushed over the edge. Harry didn't even seem to notice he was doing it because he was too focused on his pain and anger to fully grasp what was going on around him.

"Tha's enough," Murdoc said finally, keeping eye contact. "You'll stay an' you'll _never_ go back," he promised, finding that he felt surprisingly protective of this kid. His own upbringing flashed in his mind and how often he wished someone would have saved him from his father and brother. He might not have had a chance, but Harry did. Plus, it really was just too good of an opportunity to waste.

"Do you mean it?" Harry asked, the whirlwind subsiding as he looked up at the rough man with hopeful slightly teary eyes.

"Oh, Harry," Russel sighed sadly, "Of course we won't send you back."

Harry glanced at Murdoc again for confirmation and when the older man nodded he sagged bonelessly into his chair. He was suddenly very tired. It had been a long night after all and now even though it was still morning, he wished he could just sleep.

"Maybe you should get some rest for a while," Russel suggested, watching the young boy as his eyes began to droop. Harry nodded in agreement and together they all stood. "Noodle and 2D should be done with your room by now. Let's go take a look."

The trip through the halls of _Kong_ was somber as they made their way to Harry's new room with Russel in the lead and Murdoc at the rear as if he was guarding their flank. Eventually Russel stopped in front of an open door that still had the light on. "The room beside this one is Noodle's and mine is across from you. 2D has a room down in the carpark and Murdoc has his Winnebago down there too if you ever need to find any of us," he explained as he stepped out of the way so that Harry could enter.

"Wow," Harry gasped to himself breathlessly as he looked around the room in childlike wonder. "This is all mine?" he asked, turning back to them as if this was too good to be true.

"S'all yers, kid," Murdoc assured him with a frown, knowing good and well that no kid should be happy about such a shitty living space. This room was a mess with paint peeled walls and holes in the plaster. There was a shoddy looking mattress next to the far wall with some sheets that Noodle and 2D must have found somewhere. He also saw that they'd given him an old beanbag chair with some duck-tape where there'd been some holes before and a tiny tub tv. There was an old game system that looked like one of 2D's old ones he never played anymore since buying his latest conquest and a deck of worn cards that he'd probably stolen from a bar at one time or another. He also noticed a small bamboo plant and a couple of toys in the corner that most likely came from Noodle. To him, this room was junky and unkempt. But it was easy to see that to Harry, this small sanctuary meant the world in his eyes.

The Satanist's eyes widened as he was suddenly gripped in a fierce hug by the child who muttered his thanks before doing the same to Russel. He was barely aware as both men echoed their goodnights and exited closing the door behind them. Murdoc let out a stressed sigh as they paused in the hallway, slightly put off by this turn of events. His night didn't get much better as Russel didn't seem quite done with him yet.

"What the fuck is _Harry Potter_ doing here, man?" he asked, effectively regaining the older man's attention as his head snapped to Russel in surprise.

"You knew?" he asked in confusion.

"I know a lot of things," Russel grunted as he opened his door across the hall before turning back to the bassist and tapping his head. "When you're as closely involved with the spirit world as I am, you hear things. Even in America, they know the story of The-Boy-Who-Lived. Plus, by now I _know_ you. If he'd been anyone else you'd have said tough luck long ago." He watched as Murdoc's jaw tensed, but the other man didn't deny it. "Look, I don't know how you ran into him like you did but it's obvious it was for the best. It sounds like his relatives were slowly killing him. But you gotta' know you can't keep him, right?" he asked cautiously.

"An' why not?" Murdoc retorted sharply. "I captured tha' rest of yeh by less than savory means, why should this be any different?"

"For fuck's sake, use your head Murdoc. He's _Harry Potter_ ," he said as if that fact alone should have answered the question. "They aren't going to let a Satanist and his band of misfits raise their savior. You know that as well as I do," he said bluntly.

"If they find him…" he trailed off as Russel arched his brow at him and then sneered as he corrected himself sourly. "Fuckin' fine! _When_ they find 'im, I'll be prepared."

Russel knew a lost cause when he saw one and rolled his eyes, not caring if Murdoc could tell or not. "Whatever man, just don't get too attached."

Murdoc gave him an offended snort and flipped him off before stomping down the dark hall sulkily and leaving the drummer to his troubled thoughts.

* * *

 **A/N:** Wow, twice in a week. That's got to be a record for me, lol. Next chapter Murdoc will explain to Harry about Magic and tell him about how his parents really died. So now we know that Russel is at least aware of wizards due to his connection to the spirit realm, but we won't find out how Murdoc knows for a few chapters yet. Hope you like it so far!

 _ **Extra:**_ What's Noodle saying!?

"Kare kara hanarete taizai shimasu." – "Stay away from him."

"Hajimemashite." – "Nice to meet you."

"Watashi wa Noodle desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu." – "My Name is Noodle. (The last part is another form of greeting in Japanese that you'd say after meeting someone for the first time. The exact wording is not very translatable because it can be used in various other situations too like beginning a meeting as a way of stating you're eager to work together or at the lend of a letter/email to let the other person know you are looking forward to correspondence with them.)"

"Kare ni i koto. Kare wa shinsetsu ni ataishimasu" – "Be nice to him. He deserves kindness."


	3. Chapter 3

**Harry Potter and the Flip of a Niccal**

 _By: KKM_

 _Disclaimer:_ I do not own the _Harry Potter_ series or any associated characters. _Harry Potter_ is © J. K. Rowling. I also do not own the _Gorillaz_ or any associated characters/songs. _Gorillaz_ are © Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.

* * *

 **Comments:** (Sorry, I kind of like it when authors answer back so I figured I'd try it lol)

 _ **TessaPanda:**_ Thank you again and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

 _ **Gummyrav2010:**_ Yes, I think they'll be good friends. I was kind of trying to find something common ground for them. Since 2D would most likely be treated poorly by people who don't know about him and Harry is used to being mistreated I figured that was a good point for Harry to focus on instead of the "Holy crap, that dude looks scary!" kind of reaction.

* * *

 **Last Time:**

 _"…But you gotta' know you can't keep him, right?" he asked cautiously._

 _"An' why not?" Murdoc retorted sharply. "I captured tha' rest of yeh by less than savory means, why should this be any different?"_

 _"For fuck's sake, use your head Murdoc. He's Harry Potter," he said as if that fact alone should have answered the question. "They aren't going to let a Satanist and his band of misfits raise their savior. You know that as well as I do," he said bluntly._

 _"If they find him…" he trailed off as Russel arched his brow at him and then sneered as he corrected himself. "Fuckin' fine! When they find 'im, I'll be prepared."_

 _Russel knew a lost cause when he saw one and rolled his eyes, not caring if Murdoc could tell or not. "Whatever man, just don't get too attached."_

 _Murdoc gave him an offended snort and flipped him off before stomping down the dark hall sulkily and leaving the drummer to his troubled thoughts._

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Freakishness and Magic**

Murdoc had become very accustomed to people over the years telling him that he couldn't have the things he wanted. But he's made his living out of making the impossible possible. Fuck the rules, take what you want, and above all else _always_ have a plan. That was his silent mantra ever present in his rather chaotic mind; evil genius at work he'd mildly joke.

But no matter what other people would say in response, at some point they'd all begrudgingly agree that his strategy had merit. It worked for him after his mom passed away and he'd found himself tossed away to his deadbeat dad and a brother that would rather beat him to a pulp than look at him. It had worked for him when he'd been denied his magical education thanks to a flawed system and told that he'd never amount to anything. It had worked when he was told that he'd never have a band that would be worth anything and would remain a starving artist until he rotted away into nothingness.

And yet, here he was.

He'd survived his abysmal childhood and had escaped his family's greedy clutches. He had found a different way to learn about magic in a setting where he wouldn't be judged for being too poor or having a shitty upbringing. He'd also found his own twisted way to get the best band he could ever dream of even if it was through highly unconventional methods. He'd done it all by himself without a lick of help.

If it could work for all that, then there was no reason it couldn't help him keep Harry Potter.

He was currently lounging with his boots propped up in a ratty old recliner that he'd somehow managed to stuff into his Winnie with a pensive look on his sallow face. The _El Diablo_ was draped across his bare chest and every now and then one of his long discolored claws would pick at it absently releasing an out of tune trill that helped him think. A half empty vodka bottle was sitting on a crooked end table beside him along with an ashtray full of aging cigarette butts. In the dreary outdated lighting he looked the very definition of dark and brooding.

A small caw captured his attention and he watched as his familiar Cortez swooped down from the small window seal and landed on one of his dirty boots to stare at him intensely with glowing red eyes. If Murdoc was put off by the large raven's behavior, he didn't show it as his hooded eyes fixed onto the bird in bored disinterest. "Wha'? Yeh think _you_ know the answer?" Murdoc grumbled, shaking his leg to rudely knock the bird off of him before taking another swig of his vodka and dribbling some of the burning liquid down his chest and onto the demon bass. His bass glowed red for a moment with a hiss as the spill seemed to evaporate before returning back to its normal wicked glory. "Oh, hush you," Murdoc crooned, giving the instrument an almost affectionate caress as he set the bottle down sloppily.

Cortez gave an indignant squawk as he lost his balance and fell onto the putrid rug below. But that didn't deter the wily bird as it hopped back up and bit Murdoc hard on his hand before darting over to a nearby bookshelf preventing the green man from extracting swift revenge.

"Oi! Yeh fuckin' flyin' rat!" the Satanist cursed, shoving the bass off his lap and jumping up with a menacing look in his mismatched eyes. He'd probably have said to hell with it and punched the damn thing for giving him a welt, but he paused as Cortez started pecking insistently at one book in particular. "Hn," he grunted thoughtfully, shooing the bird away before grabbing the book with an arched brow.

He'd never really cared touching this book in particular considering even just being around its stale anthropodermic bibliopegy binding gave him the heebie-jeebies. However it had been one of those rare things he'd come across in his travels that had been too good to pass up. He knew that if anyone'd ever caught him with it he'd most likely be in a world of trouble, but then that was half the fun with dark relics wasn't it? He gently ran his claw under the slightly faded title _Sanguinem Vicibus Suis._

"You know," he drawled, turning his head back toward Cortez who was observing him carefully, "yeh may be on ter something." He returned his attention to the worn book and flipped it open, wincing a little as a wind seemed to pick up before settling out of nowhere and the lights flickered slightly. He quickly flitted through the pages skimming until about a quarter of the way through, he inhaled sharply and turned the book toward the raven tapping the page with interest. "An' there's our answer, my sweet," he chuckled darkly, his long sinful tongue hanging out over his jagged teeth.

 _Adoptio Sanguis –_ the permanent blood adoption spell.

He looked over the ingredients and what was needed for the ritual and nodded to himself. Yes, he could do this and even though it would be taxing on both parties involved, it would be legally binding. The actual ritual itself was completely illegal of course, but once it was completed there wasn't a damn thing anyone could do about it. He'd always found it pointless when things were outlawed in the action of but not in the aftermath of. However, this time he would make a happy exception and let the rule slide.

However, it would really be best if he could get Harry to be a willing participant. He knew how he'd been as a brat and so he was very aware that children could be stubborn and hold severe grudges. That wouldn't do for the future he had in mind. Maybe if he could get the boy to trust him…

His eyes strayed from the book and landing on a torn up yellowed picture of his father he'd kept for reasons he didn't quite understand himself. The _bastard_. Murdoc _hated_ his father with a passion. His blood was boiling under his sickly skin just thinking about him.

He didn't want it to be like that with him and Harry. Did he think this would make him father of the year? _Hell no_. But they could at least get started on the right foot. After all they'd both be getting what they wanted, wouldn't they? Harry would never have to go back to his horrible relatives and Murdoc would finally have power and respect in a world that had tossed him on his arse as a kid. And if they found a mutual familial bond by the end of it, that was just an added bonus for them.

" _Yes_ ," he smirked, closing the book with a snap that caused Cortez to jump. "Then no one'll be able teh take'im away from me."

Meanwhile Harry was finally starting to wake up. He'd been so exhausted when they'd sent him to bed after their discussion that he'd slept all the way through the rest of the day previously and it was now the next morning. He opened his bleary eyes with a groan as he heard soft mewing beside him. Yawning, he reached out and gently ran his fingers through the soft fur of the silver tabby that was currently kneading its paws at his chest. "Mm, where'd you come from?" Harry asked it softly as he rubbed his eyes again before grabbing his glasses from the rickety old nightstand next to his bed. When he could see her better he smiled and admired her unique markings. "Well, you're a pretty girl, aren't you?" he praised kindly, rubbing under her ears and causing her to purr.

"Arrrrrry!" a voice called from down the hall and he could hear two sets of footsteps coming toward his door – one quicker and lighter than the other. The cat in his arms hissed at the door and dove out of his window before he'd had time to get a good hold on her. He blinked in confusion before sitting up further in his bed.

Just then his door was knocked open as the tall lanky blue haired man and the small ninja girl from the day before came trampling into his room. 2D stopped about half way in with a small bundle in his arms as Noodle ran the rest of the way and jumped onto Harry's bed with a flop. She grinned at his surprised face then looked back over at 2D who was also smiling.

"Hey there, 'Arry," 2D greeted, "We jus' wanted teh tell ya' Russ made breakfas'! I brough' some clothes for you. I may be tall, but I'm ratha' skinny so the pants shoul' fit I reckon. I think one of Noodle's shirts shoul' do the trick though." He handed Harry a pair of black jean pants that had obviously been cut with a choppy pair of scissors and a small shirt that was red with a T-Rex on the front.

Harry looked down at what he was currently wearing and his cheeks flushed red as he realized his already worn down pajamas were still covered in dirt and grime from when Murdoc had saved him from that crazy man in _Spinner's End_. "T-thanks," he said shyly as he carefully fingered the new clothes, appreciating that even though they most likely wouldn't fit they'd still be the nicest things he'd ever owned.

"I know it's no' much…" 2D trailed off with a frown thinking that they'd disappointed the small boy. "But it shoul' get ya' by until we can take yeh shoppin' fo' somefing proper after we eat."

"What?" Harry looked up from the clothes in surprise at the sudden sadness in the tall man's tone and shook his head with wide eyes. "Oh, I don't think there's anything wrong with these. You lot have done enough for me, really. I'm just grateful is all," he assured him much to the older man's confusion.

"Erm, Alrigh'," he replied in a strange voice and tilted his head as if to think it over.

"Hawwy-chan's silly," Noodle giggled before hopping back off the bed energetically and grabbing 2D's hand, effectively preventing him from being able to space off. "Toochie! _Food!_ Onaka ga akimashita."

"Hehe, alrigh' love let's go," 2D laughed in amusement as he allowed himself to be tugged from the room. "See ya' in tha' kitchen, 'Arry!"

Harry waited for the door to close before he looked back at the clothing he was now clutching in his hands. These people were definitely odd, but they were being so kind to him. He wondered how their chores worked here. 2D had mentioned that they planned on buying him clothes and he knew that he didn't have anything to pay him back with so he could only guess what kind of indentured servitude they'd ask of him. Though it warmed his heart a bit to know that they would be much kinder than the Dursleys had been to him. In fact, he could see himself enjoying helping his new friends around _Kong_.

Now in a much better mood, he quickly discarded his soiled clothes onto the floor and tugged on this borrowed clothing. He had to laugh as he pulled the pants up that 2D had given him. Though the skinny garment had been cut into what would have been Bermuda's for 2D, on Harry they fit almost like regular jeans though the legs were still a bit long for him (he simply rolled them up a little) and instep was a little long for him. The shirt fit okay, but was a little tight on his shoulders and maybe a tad too short, but he could make it work. He peeled off his dirty socks from the night before and wiggled his toes a bit before shrugging and heading out toward the direction he remembered the kitchen being in.

"Good morning, Harry," Russel's cheery voice boomed as he finished scooping a generous portion of bacon and eggs onto a plate and motioned for Harry to take a seat. Harry looked at his plate greedily as the warm scent made its ways to his nose. He's always loved making bacon and eggs even though he was hardly allowed to eat any himself. He was practically salivating at the thought that the entire plate was his and not just the burnt leftover scraps. "Go on, eat your fill little man."

Harry bobbed his head in thanks before grabbing a fork and scooping up some eggs. When he took a bite he let out a pleased sigh and closed his eyes as he relished in the warm flavor. "Soooo good," he praised before taking another scoopful. This time he kept his eyes open as he looked around the table to see that Russel and Noodle also had their own full plates and there was an extra plate to the side presumably for Murdoc that only had bacon on it. When his emerald eyes roamed over to 2D's breakfast he paused in confusion. Instead of a hot steaming plate of food, the frail singer was eating a sugary bowl of _Cinnamon Toast Crunch_. Harry frowned and swallowed the rest of his bite. "Wait, did I steal some of 2D's breakfast? I can share!" he insisted, looking over at Russel in a panic.

"Hm?" Russel hummed absently as he poured Harry some orange juice and set it in front of him before tucking into his own meal without glancing at his band member's choice of meal. "Nah, don't worry about it. That's his favorite breakfast, man," then he chuckled through a bite full of bacon and added, "I know I was shocked too at first. I mean, who doesn't like a classic? But it's cool."

"He's right, 'Arry," 2D nodded, happily chomping on a spoonful of his favorite sugary treat. "'Sides, Imma Buddhist. I dun eat any meat," he explained easily before lifting up his bowl to slurp the milk. But before the bowl made it to his lips, the sound of a door slamming caused him to jump and the contents of his bowl sloshed all over him causing his hair to droop. He slouched and sat the now empty bowl down mournfully. "'Mornin' Mudz," he muttered, accepting a napkin Noodle handed him to mop his face with.

"That's disgustin' Tusspot," Murdoc jeered, looking not at all bothered as he sauntered to the table fashionably late and still shirtless. "Ah, Bacon. No' a bad way ter start the monin'," he said absently, giving Russ the closest thing he was going to get for a compliment as he munched on a greasy strip and eyed Harry who was still trying not to laugh at 2D (the singer really was quite drenched). "How'd ya sleep, kid?" he asked as Harry seemed to feel his stare and looked up at him with bright eyes.

"Really good," Harry told him much to all of their relief. They were aware that _Kong_ wasn't the friendliest place to live sometimes. "I probably would have slept longer if that cat wouldn't have woke me up. But she was so sweet. Was she one of yours?" he asked innocently, trying not to stare too hard at the other man. He'd never been this close to someone with tattoos before and he didn't want to seem rude.

Murdoc had been about to take a gulp of orange juice, but when Harry mentioned the cat he made a strange choking sound and sprayed it at 2D, shocking everyone at the table, especially Harry who'd thought he'd been caught.

"Ugggggh, Murdo' did you pu' Vodka in this?" 2D complained, looking completely disgusted as he stood and tried shaking the offensive liquid off of himself accidentally flicking it at everyone's food.

" _TOOCH-"_

"Aw man, come one that's na-"

" _SHUDDUP!"_ Murdoc interrupted causing all of them to go still. Once he was sure he had everyone's full attention, he looked over at a now very nervous Harry. "A _cat_ you say? What did it look like?

"Um, I-uh don't know. Silver with some d-dark markings I guess?" Harry stuttered, shrinking back from the green man's glare.

 _"Murdoc,_ " Russel intoned sternly, fixing his milky gave on their leader disapprovingly. "I don't care what cracker-ass cult you belong to – _leave that cat alone._ I still haven't gotten over what you did to Mr. Mittens. _That_ shit was cold."

"Little prick deserved it," Murdoc bit back defensively, grabbing a piece of now soggy bacon with a sneer.

"Ignore him," Russ said, shaking his head. "He used to set fire to cats because he felt it was 'his civic duty' but I think we broke him of that habit a while back." This comment caused Noodle to start snickering and even 2D was trying to hide a grin.

 _"Set fire to cats?_ " Harry repeated in disbelief, glancing back at the Satanist who was now poking at his food silently. "What on Earth for? What happened?"

"Weeeeeelllllll, let's just say that _Kong_ is one jacked up place. When things die here, they tend to come back with a vengeance," Russ said evasively, trying to add a bit of mystery to his story. The effect was promptly destroyed when 2D added to his plot.

"Theys came back teh life an' started chasing him 'round the carpark as flamin' cat-zombies! Neva' seen him runnin' around screamin' li' that before. It was hilarious."

"Watch it, Dents," Murdoc threatened, but didn't look too bothered by it. In fact if Harry had to guess, he'd say that the older man was trying to hide a grin of his own. After everyone had their laugh he finally rolled his eyes and looked back to Harry. "Afta' breakfast come with me. I wanted ter talk ta' you 'bout some stuff."

"Aw, Muds we was gonna take 'im fo' some clothes," 2D complained.

"He c'n still go. I jus' wanted ter talk for a minute," the Satanist assured him.

"Okay," Harry agreed, "Just let me get the dishes and I'll come with you."

"Nah, Noods and I will do them," Russel said, waving him off much to his surprise.

"B-but after all you guys are doing for me…" he trailed off uneasily.

"Everybody's gotta' eat, Harry," Russel reminded him before plucking his plate from him before he could protest.

"Okay, I guess," Harry blinked, then turned back to Murdoc. "I guess I'm ready now."

"Right," Murdoc said, wiping his greasy mouth with the back of his hand. "Come along, then."

He led Harry back to where the lift was, but didn't have it go down like Harry had originally thought it would. Instead he felt the old machine whir to life and carry them farther up until it could not go any further. Then once it stopped it opened to reveal a rickety looking stairwell. Harry followed in silence as they climbed up to a large steel door which Murdoc held open and allowed him to pass.

Harry blinked a few times as he was met with stale wind and clouds. He stepped forward and looked around realizing that they were on the roof. The view was rather intimidating considering that they were really high up but it was neat to be able to see the whole landfill as well as the old cemetery. Harry thought he saw movement and squinted a bit to get a better look. He let out a gasp as he realized there was a headless woman that kept walking into the support pole of the iron fence around the cemetery.

"There really _are_ zombies here," he said in awed disbelief.

"Yep, real bonafide zombies," Murdoc agreed in an amused tone as he lit a cigarette. Harry watched him curiously, but when the man offered him a drag he shook his head no. "To each is their own, kid," he said with a shrug.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Harry asked calmly as they both leaned down to sit on the edge of the roof and watched the roaming undead below. Murdoc didn't answer him right away, choosing to take his time as he puffed on his cancer stick a moment.

"What did yer relatives tell ya' 'bout your parents?" he finally asked in a heavy voice. Beside him Harry stiffened and he offered him the cigarette one more time. This time Harry took it but immediately started coughing after he tried to inhale it and ended up dropping it off the side of the building by accident. "I have more," the Satanist shrugged, hiding his grin at the boy's apologetic look.

They were silent a while longer as Harry tried hard to gather his wits to talk about this. His parents had always been a hard subject for him. "They told me that my parents were drunk and died in a car crash," he answered in a small voice.

"That's a lie," Murdoc retorted easily and watched as Harry's surprised face turned to him.

"You knew them?" he asked hopefully.

"Not really. But everyone _knew_ them," he said cryptically before turning and facing with a serious look on his face. " _Your_ parents were murdered by a sociopath with a' superiority complex."

"Excuse me?" Harry's flushed cheeks paled as he looked the other man directly in the eyes looking for any hint of a cruel joke.

"I'm no' lyin' kid," Murdoc assured him, maintaining eye contact. "They were murdered by a twat who went by the name o' Lord Voldemort like he was some sort of spiffy ponce or something. Fuckin' coward is mo' like it. He went there and killed yo' parents, but what he really wanted was _you_."

"W-why are you telling me this?" Harry asked, tears streaming down his face as he started to tremble under the older man's gaze. "Why would someone _do_ that?"

"I'm tellin' you cuz I want you ter fully understand the danga' yer in. I want you to _survive_ because that piece o' shit's still out there somewhere. He was never caught. And _you,"_ Murdoc reached forward, carding Harry's bangs out of the way before tapping him on his lightning bolt shaped scar, "survived."

Harry's hand snapped up to his scar looking bewildered. "My scar? But how?" he questioned frantically.

" _Magic_ ," the Satanist intoned, his bloodshot eyes widening a bit for effect.

"Magic doesn't exist," Harry sneered, glaring back out toward the landfill. "You're just making fun of me."

"Am I?" he asked with a drawl, "Zombies don't exist." Even as he said it, Harry's eyes jerked to where the headless woman had now fallen over and was blindly crawling around in circles. "Didya' ever 'ave anything odd happen when you were little?" Murdoc asked slyly, watching as Harry's breathing became quicker as his whole perception began to shatter. Murdoc knew he was being a little hard on him about it, but the sooner he understood that magic was real the better.

 _"No."_ Harry said suddenly, giving him an upset look. He made to bolt, but Murdoc grabbed his arm before he could effectively holding him in place. "Let me go, I'm not a _Freak!_ " Harry said between tears, looking like he was about to go off his rails.

"I never said you were a Freak," the older man said sternly. "But I am saying you are a wizard, Harry. Deny it all yeh want but those _muggles_ can't hide yeh from reality forever."

Harry went rigid in his hold looking up at him with big glassy eyes as he listened carefully to the other man's words.

"The fact o' the matter is tha' shit stain is still out there somewhere lookin' for you. You can continue livin' in hiding _or_ you can make something of yourself," he told him, mismatched eyes blazing. "Magic can be lovely," he waved his hand over a metal screw that suddenly jerked to life and became a tiny silver snake. Before Harry could wrap his mind around what happened Murdoc's fist closed and he heard a sickening crunch. When he opened his hand again there was nothing left but rust and metal bits. "Magic can also be terrible. S'all in how yeh use it. But I can help you with that."

"How do you know all of this?" Harry asked, watching as the particles were carried off into the wind.

" _Everyone_ does. Tha's wot makes it so dangerous for you to no' know who you are," he said pointedly. "You're famous in the Wizarding world. Without protection you'd be a bribe away from bein' captured."

"And you can help me?" Harry asked in a tiny voice. It was clear that he still wasn't sure if he fully believed the older man or not.

"I _can_ ," Murdoc said, stretching a bit as he looked out over the desolate landscape. "But it will take time," he admitted.

"O-okay," Harry breathed, his emotions still feeling out of control as he tried to process all of this new information. His mind was so full he really didn't know what to think.

"Look kid, why don't yeh go ter your room fo' a bit and I'll tell the others we'll get yer shopping done later," Murdoc offered and Harry nodded gratefully still trembling a little. He watched as the small boy stood and made for the door that would lead him back to the lift.

"Thank you for telling the truth," Harry whispered, then he disappeared through the large door leaving Murdoc alone to his thoughts silently hoping he was doing the right thing.

* * *

 **A/N:** Jeeez, this is waaaaay longer than I thought it would be. I hope you don't feel that Harry believed him too fast. I just felt that since Murdoc was already showing him things that aren't meant to exist as real that he'd probably accept it faster if not need to go think about it kind of thing.

Also, I know Noodle doesn't really have much of a personality right now but it's just because we're in Phase 1 and she doesn't speak much English. I'll try to work on that, sorry. She's very important later on in the other phases.

Let me know what you think!


	4. Chapter 4

**Harry Potter and the Flip of a Niccal**

 _By: KKM_

 _Disclaimer:_ I do not own the _Harry Potter_ series or any associated characters. _Harry Potter_ is © J. K. Rowling. I also do not own the _Gorillaz_ or any associated characters/songs. _Gorillaz_ are © Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.

* * *

 _ **Comments:**_

 _ **nanoidManicist**_ _ **:**_ Thank you for your comment. I hope that this continues to be an interesting read for you!

* * *

 **Last Time:**

 _"And you can help me?" Harry asked in a tiny voice. It was clear that he still wasn't sure if he fully believed the older man or not._

 _"I can," Murdoc said, stretching a bit as he looked out over the desolate landscape. "But it will take time," he admitted._

 _"O-okay," Harry breathed, his emotions still feeling out of control as he tried to process all of this new information. His mind was so full he really didn't know what to think._

 _"Look kid, why don't yeh go ter your room fo' a bit and I'll tell the others we'll get yer shopping done later," Murdoc offered and Harry nodded gratefully still trembling a little. He watched as the small boy stood and made for the door that would lead him back to the lift._

 _"Thank you for telling the truth," Harry whispered, then he disappeared through the large door leaving Murdoc alone to his thoughts silently hoping he was doing the right thing._

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Letters from No One**

Hardly any of the residents of _Kong Studios_ would consider themselves to be morning people. Noodle was the only exception to the rule as sometimes she would be up around seven in the morning, but no one really counted that because she would spend the first two hours of her morning meditating and doing various yoga exercises to help herself get ready to face the day. The next up would be Russel, though most of the time not by choice. Around nine to ten his stomach would wake him with loud grumbling noises that would cause him to begrudgingly get out of bed, shower, and lumber off to the kitchens to start preparing for breakfast. After that, around eleven, the smell of delicious food drifting through the building would rouse 2D into wakefulness where he'd move in a clumsy trance in the direction of the lift. Often times more than not, he would be so loud that he would wake the resident Satanist from his hungover slumber and he would berate and cuss up a storm all the way up to join them.

But today was different.

Murdoc muttered a few choice words under his breath as he stumbled out of the lift and glared back at the offending contraption. Grumbling, he wiped at his bloodshot eyes and tried to ignore his protesting joints as he trudged into the livingroom and plopped down onto the worn couch with the air of a petulant child. "I mean, _really_. Who tha' hell'd wanna' be up this early?" he grouched, glaring at the rising sun through one of the dirty windows.

It hadn't been his choice to wake up at the un-godly hour of six in the morning. Someone had left the door open to the carpark again ("Fuckin' brainless, useless sack of- _How many times do I hafta' tell tha' wanker!?_ ") which of course led some of the undead on an excursion around his living quarters. He probably would've remained blissfully unaware if Cortez hadn't started squawking at one that had fallen over next to the Winnie. Murdoc had woken up with a start and grabbed his trusty baseball bat before taking his early-morning frustrations out on the mindless creature. How he hadn't woke 2D with all that racket was a mystery.

Of course he supposed you had to _have_ a brain to realize you were in danger, but that was a different story.

So, there he sat picking at some dried zombie guts that had latched onto his favorite boots trying not to die of boredom. He glanced up when he heard a creaking sound near the front door followed by a rusty squeak as the day's post was shoved through the flap trap. For lack of anything better to do, he rolled his eyes moodily and got up to retrieve it.

"Bills, bills, bullshi', _more_ bullshi'," he paused seeing 2D had received a letter from his mum. He quickly opened it and scanned the contents. She was begging him to come home again. Murdoc sneered at her shrill words and made a face of disgust before crumbling it into a ball and tossing it over his shoulder, " _Pathetic_." He never had liked 2D's mum. The feeling was quite mutual.

The rest of the mail was rather mundane and unimportant. That is, until he got to the very last letter in the stack. Emerald ink shined up at him in neatly penned letters.

 _Mr. H. Potter_

 _2_ _nd_ _Bedroom to the Left_

 _Kong Studios_

 _Essex, United Kingdom_

Murdoc barely noticed that his hands were trembling as he slowly flipped the envelope over and saw something that had haunted his dreams for over twenty years. It was so innocent and unassuming how the beautiful calligraphy of the H stood out surrounded by four vastly different beasts; a griffin, a snake, a raven, and a badger. A small banner was draped along the bottom of the elaborate design boldly stating, ' _Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus.'_

"Never tickle a sleeping dragon…" Murdoc's lips twitched in a parody of a smile. Last time he'd seen this kind of letter he'd had no idea what it had meant. He hadn't been able to understand the beauty of Latin back then. His eyes darkened as he thought back to a different time. He remembered how stupidly happy he'd been when he'd received a similar missive. How he'd longed to escape his father and brother only to be foiled before his journey had ever began. Instead it had all ended in pain and humiliation. He squeezed his eyes closed at the very memory and took a shaky breath to calm his anger.

He hadn't been prepared to deal with something like this so soon and yet he should have known it was coming. They would try to take Harry away from him; that much he knew. Ever since their talk on the roof a few days ago, Harry had been somewhat subdued. The older man hadn't had a chance to talk to him about the blood adoption yet. Wounds were still too raw and there hadn't been any time. But had time already gone astray?

Murdoc's mismatched eyes opened suddenly and he fixed the letter with a suspicious look. What would the school do with the boy once they had him? Would they send him back to those horrible monsters who'd kept him locked in a cupboard under the stairs? Murdoc couldn't allow that. He may have been a lot of things, but a child abuser wasn't one of them. One of the things that had appealed him to Satanism had been the tenant about never harming children. After the childhood he'd had, it was something he felt very strongly about.

Also, would they try to poison his mind against outcasts like himself and take away his ideas and freedom of thought? Hogwarts would undoubtedly be connected to some form of government… the _Ministry of Magic_ he remembered it was called. Would they try and turn young, abused Harry into a puppet for political gain? Would the kid even get a chance to experience a normal childhood?

All of these thoughts and more began to swim through the older man's head. If he could get Harry to agree to stay with him instead of going with _them_ he would not only revolutionize the boy's thinking but maybe give him a chance he wouldn't have had before. Free will and non-conformity could be just what the wizarding world needed in a savior, not that he was overly concerned with the affairs of others. But Harry was _his_ now. As far as he was concerned both the Wizard and Muggle world had turned their back on the kid. It was up to Murdoc Niccals and his band of misfits now.

They didn't need a school to teach magic. Murdoc had his ways, he could find the necessary tools and tutors. _He_ could be there for the kid in a way that no one had been there for _him._

"Offer rejected," he hissed as he took out his trusty zippo and lit the corner of the missive on fire, watching in satisfaction as the paper curled under the heat. He tossed the remains in a nearby ashtray and gave a nod of approval. Maybe if no one answered, they'd leave the kid alone. He smirked in satisfaction and waltzed out of the room feeling much better.

Meanwhile, Harry too had woke with a start though his problem wasn't foolish zombies. He'd had another nightmare. His forehead was sweaty and he could feel a clamminess about him that came with the fears of his dreams. The visions were distorted to his memory but he could remember small snippets here and there. His uncle and aunt's voices had echoed through his mind reminding him that he was a freak and unwanted. He remembered headlights and a crash, only suddenly they weren't headlights at all but green flashes and a woman's scream. The man from _Spinner's End_ was there too, chasing him with his switchblade screaming at him in his butchered cockney accent.

And then it had all stopped when a protector had stepped from the shadows blocking him from the loud noise and flashing lights. He remembered looking up and seeing Murdoc's smirking face looking all around at the chaos with his red eye glowing eerily in the darkness and feeling strangely comforted by such a terrifying sight. Then when everything seemed to reach a crescendo, he'd suddenly woke with a jerk.

 _"Meeeoooow,"_ a low mew sounded from the end of his bed and Harry breathed a sigh of amused relief as he welcomed the distraction.

"You again?" he asked with a strained smile as he gave the fuzz creature a friendly chin scratch. "You'll have to be careful from now on. It doesn't sound like Murdoc cares for cats much, I'm afraid."

The tabby gave an almost sarcastic hiss and flicked her tail in the air with sass before purring and rubbing up against his chest. Then as if understanding that she couldn't stay long, she hopped up on his window seal again and hopped back out.

"Cats are weird," Harry muttered as he rolled out of bed and began to get dressed. After his talk on the roof with Murdoc he'd been too tired and overwhelmed to go shopping so Russel and the others had taken him the next morning instead. He'd never realized how nice it was to have clothes that actually fit. Against his protests that they were doing too much, they'd bought him several outfits and shoes. Harry had been both very embarrassed and very grateful. Today, he decided on a comfy pair of jeans and a red graphic t-shit that featured a silhouetted gargoyle with glowing aqua eyes.

Once he was properly dressed, he hurried on his way to the kitchen. Though he hadn't been given any chores to do, one of his favorite things was to try and beat Russel to the kitchen. He really loved the bigger man's cooking however at times Harry found himself restless and had always been fond of cooking even though he'd been forced to at the Dursley's. It had always given him a rare moment of relaxation in his otherwise hectic days. But here at Kong, it just gave him something to _do._

Today was his day it seemed. As he neared the kitchen he didn't hear Russel's normal cheery clinging of various pots and pans as he worked on his craft. He couldn't smell anything yet either. Of course, now that he thought about it, it _was_ a bit early. He wasn't even sure anyone was up yet.

"Oh, good morning!" Harry gasped as he entered what he thought would be an empty kitchen only to see Murdoc already seated at the table sipping on something in a mug that looked like it might've been a hot tea or coffee while he was glancing over a rumpled looking newspaper. A bottle of Kahlua was sitting out on the kitchen table in front of him.

Murdoc gave him a grunt of acknowledgement and continued reading. This suited Harry just fine. The boy still wasn't quite sure what to make of the other man. He was deeply grateful that the other man hadn't sugarcoated anything during their talk and had given him some real answers. But at the same time he felt unbalanced and off kilter because the discussion had shaken the very core of his beliefs which was now causing him to feel very lost.

Biting his lip nervously, Harry hurried over to the fridge and rifled through a few things before attacking the food pantry next as he gathered his ingredients. Today he was planning on making everyone French toast. As he started mixing the sweet sugary batter to dip the bread slices in, he didn't see that Murdoc's attention was no longer on the paper but on himself as he whistled pleasantly and continued to work.

"Wot in the blazes is tha'?" Murdoc asked gruffly, no longer able to hide his curiosity at the sticky looking mess Harry was dipping the bread in before frying it. Harry looked back at him for a moment before continuing his ministrations as he answered.

"French toast," he answered with a small smile. "My aunt found the recipe in the TV guide once. It's typically an American breakfast even though the name suggests otherwise," he informed him. "It was one of my favorites even though I rarely got to have any."

Murdoc visibly winced at the mentioning of his aunt and frowned. "You know ya' don't 'ave ter make us breakfast though, right?" he asked. "You could always tell Russ an' he'd make it for yeh."

"Yeeeah, I know," Harry sighed, still cooking diligently as turned the heat down a little. "But I kind of miss cooking in a weird way," he shrugged. "It was always the least demanding of all of my chores."

Murdoc stayed silent after that as he continued watching the boy with a small frown on his face. He was beginning to realize that his earlier contemplations had been fairly spot on if the kid thought cooking was fun just because it wasn't the _worst_. He made a mental note to talk to the others about this to broaden Harry's horizons a bit.

It seemed that Harry and Murdoc would not be the only early risers in the kitchen this morning. As Kong's halls began to fill with the sweet scent of charred sugar and cinnamon, the other residents trickled in and sat at their usual places around the table. Murdoc watched in amusement as 2D wiped at his bleary eyes and almost knocked over his orange juice.

Harry ignored them all as he continued to whistle a jaunty tune while he cooked. When he was done, he eagerly served them all big platefuls. Russel hummed in appreciation as he took his first bite.

"Mmmmmmn, this is almost as good as my Momma's," he praised, savoring each bite. Harry turned bright red and grinned around his own mouthful.

"Kono kyandīdesu ka? Sore wa kōseina tabemono no yō ni aji ga suru," Noodle mused, getting a wild gleam in her eyes that made the adults at the table sweat drop. Hopefully, her sugar high later wouldn't be too bad…

Not seeing the other's cautious looks Harry gave her a confused smile, understanding that she'd asked a question, but not quite sure what it was. Hoping he was on the right track, he tried to answer her. "It's French toast. You take cinnamon, sugar, eggs and milk," he paused seeing 2D start to turn green and corrected himself, "I used soy milk and no eggs for yours, sorry. Yours does have some flour just to thicken it a bit though. Anyway as I was saying, you mix all that up and then you fry it and put powdered sugar and more cinnamon on top."

"Well, I really li' it!" 2D praised, now that he was sure he hadn't accidentally compromised his beliefs by eating it. "We should 'ave this mo' often!"

"Thanks, I'm glad you all like it," Harry said honestly, his green eyes shining. All of the tension he'd had this morning seemed to melt away at their kind words.

He would have said more, but then of all things an _owl_ flew through the window of the kitchen and dive-bombed the table. Russel let out a girly scream and threw his plate at the now screeching bird as it opened its wingspan in agitation and flapped at him indignantly. "Get that _thing_ away from me. _If this is one of yours Murdoc, I'm gonna-"_

"Oh, shuddap Lards, it's no' mine!" Murdoc said rudely as he looked desperately around the table as if trying to find something. Then he tried to snatch at it, but the bird jumped and bit him on the hand. "OWWW! Get back 'ere you ruddy overgrown chicken!"

Harry was hiding behind Noodle trying very hard to decide if he should laugh or be somewhat horrified that his breakfast had been ruined by such a bazaar occurrence. Weirdly, the only person who _wasn't_ panicking or cursing up a storm at the upset bird was 2D who was staring absently at the chaos in front of him. "Toochie?" Noodle tried to get his attention, also noticing how quiet the normally spastic singer was.

2D didn't answer right away, but did cock his head to the side curiously. "Wot's this?" he asked, reaching out to the owl who was too busy dodging an angry Murdoc and antagonizing a terrified Russel to pay attention to the lanky arm that was aimed for it. It let out a startled squawk and seemed to freeze as 2D plucked it easily from the table and ran his gentle fingers through the bird's feathers. "S'not at all li' Cortez," he smiled before fiddling with something that appeared to be tied around the creature's leg. "Go' it! Oh, It's for 'Arry."

 _"NO!_ " Murdoc shouted, making them all jump as he snatched the missive from 2D's hand and smacked him upside the head. " _This_ is mine."

"Ow! Bu' it says 'Arry, Mudz!" 2D winced, cowering away from the green man as Noodle ran around the table trying to place herself between the two.

"I don' care who _you_ think it's for, Faceache! This is _my_ studio an' _my_ band, so it's mine!" he growled menacingly, the owl quickly forgotten as it gave a hoot and retreated through the window.

"Mudz, what the hell man? Give the kid the letter!" Now that the crazy bird was gone, there was nothing keeping Russel from rising to his full intimidating height as he stood from the table. In all of the commotion, no one seemed to notice as Harry suddenly went very pale as he watched all of them bicker back and forth with each other.

His wide green eyes focused on Murdoc's angry form and his body began to involuntarily tremble as he slowly backed away from the growing fight. His heart lurched sharply in his chest at the thought that the older man was keeping something from him and had resorted to violence to keep it away. Was this not the very reason he had ran away from the Dursleys? To escape this kind of abuse? And here his savior was evoking the same kind of behavior. How long would it take before the easily angered man would turn his abuse on Harry like he had to the friendly dim-witted singer?

Harry suddenly felt extremely conflicted and on the verge of a panic attack as he suddenly turned from the room and bolted down the hallway to the relative safety of his room.

"Harry, _wait!"_ Murdoc shouted, having looked up just in time to see the kid run.

"You've really done it now," Russ warned him, giving the bassist a disgusted look. "You heard the way he talked about those relatives of his. Did you really expect him not to take your bullshit the wrong way? You've probably scared the kid half to death."

"Plus e' really does 'ave a right teh see woteva that letta' is," 2D pointed out in a muffled voice as he cowered behind the protective drummer. "Its go' his name onnit."

"I fuckin' _know_ that, you idiot," Murdoc sneered, glaring down at the crumpled missive in his hand. Russel saw the crest on the front and his eyes glowed with understanding.

"I warned you this would happen. You _have_ to tell him. Don't start with secrets now that you've opened this can of worms," Russel said in a disapproving voice. "That little cracker deserves a lot better than this world has given him and you have a chance to make shit right. Don't fuck this up like you do everything else." He crossed his arms and watched as Murdoc's eyes flashed in obvious rage, but was surprised when the older man restrained himself from retaliating.

"Anata wa kore o tadashī mono ni suru hitsuyō ga arimasu!" Little Noodle fumed, kicking their leader hard in the shin causing him to yelp and curse at her. She easily jumped out of his reach though she knew he knew better than to extract revenge on her.

 _"FINE!_ " he hissed as he stalked out of the room with the letter still clutched tightly in his clawed hand. However as he moved further down the hall his steps grew less angry and more nervous than anything. He'd really fucked this one up. HE ran his empty hand through his greasy hair and sighed with somewhat slumped shoulders.

He felt even worse about the situation when he paused outside of Harry's door which hadn't been closed all the way so he could hear the upset sniffles on the other side of the door. What the hell was he supposed to do with this situation? He knew damn well he was no good and consoling tears and yet this was definitely his fault. If he ever wanted to have a chance to have the kid trust him again then he had to make this right.

Taking a deep breath, he squared his shoulders and pushed open the door. He watched as the boy immediately tensed as he walked further into the room and had to hide a wince of his own as he was strongly reminded of the relationship between himself and his own father. He did not want his and Harry's relationship to be like that. If this was 2D, he would have solved the problem by picking a fight and shouting until they were both blue in the face. For some reason that always helped he and the lanky man settle their differences, but this time he knew he'd have to try something different.

Harry let out a surprised gasp and looked up as he felt the bed dip a little. He hadn't expected Murdoc to sit next to him. Most adults seemed to enjoy talking down on him so he felt a little off balance at the fact that the previously angry man now seemed to want to level with him. He stayed sitting with his arms curled around his knees, but his tear stained gaze didn't leave the green man's frowning face.

"W-why did you do t-that?" Harry asked shakily as he tried to control his breathing. The other man seemed pensive a moment before offering him a wry smile.

"Because I'm a shit person?" he offered sarcastically, then he held out the letter to him with an air of resignation. "Take it, kid. It's yours."

Harry bit his lip with uncertainty at the offer, but reached out and took the letter nonetheless. Murdoc watched as he eyed the front of the letter curiously and then turned it over running his fingers over the crest in fascination. "Hogwarts?" he mumbled curiously, wiping away his remaining tears before slowly ripping open the letter and looking over the contents. "But, this is a letter from a school… a _wizarding_ school?" Harry asked in confusion, now very confused about why Murdoc had been so against him reading this. Was he like Aunt Petunia? Had he misunderstood the man's kindness? Maybe he really did think Harry was too much of a freak to deserve such a good opportunity.

As if reading the young boy's troubled thoughts, Murdoc scowled and shook his head. "It's no' wot you're thinking," he said, snorting a little when Harry gave him a disbelieving look. "I don't thin' you're not good enough or even that you wouldn' do great there. It's jus' that you need to understand tha' if you do choose to go _there_ ," he spat the word as if in disgust, _"_ then they'll prolly try teh force you ter go back to your relatives an' I don't want ta' see that happen. You've been so 'appy the last couple o' days. I don't want teh see you throw all of it away."

Harry tensed a little beside him at the mention of his relatives and rested his chin against his knees in dismay. "But if I don't go, how will I ever learn about magic? I'm a wizard, what good is being one if I don't know anything? I mean, I guess if I had to-"

" _No._ " Murdoc said firmly, causing Harry to jump at the conviction in his voice. His eye brows rose a little when he noticed that Murdoc's one red eye was glowing a bit. Harry was starting to realize that this happened when the older man was truly passionate about something he believed in. "If you wan' ter go ta' that school I won' stop yeh. But you'll no' go back ter those pathetic fucks!" he said firmly. "I won't allow it. As fer schooling, I know magic an' I didn't have teh go to no fancy private school ter learn it. I figured it ou' all by meself. But you've go' a lot mo' resources than I 'ad. I _know_ wot you're getting into an' I could find you the righ' tutors," he offered.

"You'd do that for me? You wouldn't send me away?" Harry asked meekly, slowly sitting up and looking at the Satanist earnestly.

"No, I wouldn' send yeh away," Murdoc promised, secretly congratulating himself as Harry turned himself to face him more clearly.

"But how would you go about keeping me? If what you say is true then they already know I'm here and might try to send me back anyway," Harry pointed out logically.

"Oh, Ol' Mudsy has his ways," Murdoc smirked, giving Harry a calculating look. The young wizard got the idea that the older man already had something in mind and he wasn't disappointed when he was slyly asked, "Wot do you know 'bout blood adoptions?"

* * *

 **A/N:** _Finally!_ This chapter took forever to write! Sorry about that, lol.

OMG I GOT TO SEE THE HUMANZ TOUR AT SPRINT CENTER LAST FRIDAY! I was not disappointed! It was freaking awesome! I had the chills when he started with M1-A1 and I tell you it was quite the experience knowing every song by heart. I got a really neat video of the whole stadium singing Clint Eastwood together. The visuals were fantastic! He ended with Don't Get Lost in Heaven/Demon days and it was beautiful. I finally got to see the full music video to El Manana too and I'll tell ya, that one hits you right in the feels! On a funny note, in the beginning of the concert he paused after Rhinestone Eyes and was like, "I've never been to Kansas before." He was actually in KC, MO. Adorable man didn't know where he was! :3 It's okay, I forgive him. But omg I can't even describe how excellent that performance was. I will never forget it!

 _ **What is noodle saying!?**_

"Kono kyandīdesu ka? Sore wa kōseina tabemono no yō ni aji ga suru," – "What is this? This tastes like fair food." (Think fried sweet foods you see at fairgrounds kind of thing).

"Anata wa kore o tadashī mono ni suru hitsuyō ga arimasu!" – "You need to make this right/correct! (This translation goes either way).


	5. Chapter 5

**Harry Potter and the Flip of a Niccal**

 _By: KKM_

 _Disclaimer:_ I do not own the _Harry Potter_ series or any associated characters. _Harry Potter_ is © J. K. Rowling. I also do not own the _Gorillaz_ or any associated characters/songs. _Gorillaz_ are © Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.

* * *

 **Comments:**

 _ **Sicklydollt**_ _ **:**_ Thanks for your kind words! I try really hard to put myself in my characters' shoes and think about all the angles of why they may or may not react in certain ways. So I'm glad to see that it's paying off. I really want to explore the deeper angles of Murdoc's personality, but at the end of the day I still want him to be the Murdoc that we all love/hate. So for me, it's super important to try and get his rough personality right and yet play on his past a bit to make him more relatable. As far as the pace, that's something that I've been trying really hard to practice with my last few fanfictions. I really don't care for rushed plots and in a story that will be as long as this one, I really don't think I'd be able to hit all of the points I want to if I cut anything out. I'm pretty dedicated to trying to make this the most detailed Harry Potter/Gorillaz fanfics out there and one of my goals is to have it arch across the entirety of both timelines. So I'm very excited, but this is going to take a _looooot_ of planning. There are some nights that instead of actually writing the story I'm actually planning out my timeline with brief summaries. I hope you continue to enjoy!

* * *

 **Last Time:**

 _"You'd do that for me? You wouldn't send me away?" Harry asked meekly, slowly sitting up and looking at the Satanist earnestly._

 _"No, I wouldn' send yeh away," Murdoc promised, secretly congratulating himself as Harry turned himself to face him more clearly._

 _"But how would you go about keeping me? If what you say is true then they already know I'm here and might try to send me back anyway," Harry pointed out logically._

 _"Oh, Ol' Mudsy has his ways," Murdoc smirked, giving Harry a calculating look. The young wizard got the idea that the older man already had something in mind and he wasn't disappointed when he was slyly asked, "Wot do you know 'bout blood adoptions?"_

* * *

 **Chapter 5: The Blood Adoption**

"A _blood_ adoption…" Harry repeated slowly, narrowing his eyes at the other man's pointy grin. "And what exactly goes into something like that? It doesn't have a very pleasant ring to it," Harry asked suspiciously, slightly put off when the green man's discolored lips stretched wider. He had no idea that the more suspicious and inquisitive he was about this, the more his companion's view of him increased. Murdoc didn't want the kid to blindly accept things that were presented to him. The fact that Harry was already extremely distrustful of adults was just an extra motivation for him to want to help the kid.

"I'll be honest, it's _not_ ," he replied thoughtfully, leaning back against the wall a little as they continued to lounge on Harry's bed. "In fact, It'll prolly be painful as 'ell. But it would be _worth_ it." His mismatched eyes flickered back to the young boy again as he straightened his posture in preparation to explain. "We'd 'ave to perform a ritual tha' would literally combine our blood. That's the painful part. I read in the book tha' in some cases it feels li' fire is scorching through yer veins. But then the euphoria of power hits when everythin' meshes just righ' and it releases yeh. It'd make us direct relatives an' would be legally binding. They'd 'ave no righ' ter be able ta' take you away."

Harry stayed silent a moment, thinking it over. Murdoc frowned a bit as a conflicted look reflected in those expressive emerald eyes. He knew it was a lot to take in for someone so young, but it was really the only choice they had. He vaguely wondered which part was upsetting the boy more, the fact that they'd be related or that they'd most likely be hurt in the process. He was therefor caught completely off guard by the boy's next words. "So… if we did this, you'd be like my father or something?" Harry asked, looking up at him. Murdoc was surprised to find that there was no disgust or judgment in his eyes, he just seemed to want to know. When Murdoc slowly nodded his head on confirmation, Harry's look became even more concerned. "But what about my real parents? Won't I be theirs anymore?" he asked sadly, confiding what he was truly fearful about. "I feel like I've finally gotten closer to knowing them even though I know you probably didn't realize it. When you told me the truth, I felt like I finally had some closure and was happy knowing that they weren't terrible people after all, you know?"

Murdoc let out a low sigh, this damn kid would make him soft if he wasn't careful. He so fucking innocent. "No Harry, you'd still be theirs," he said, watching as the boy gave him a relieved look. Curiosity still loomed within his bright green irises so the older man continued. "My genetics would be added li' a third parent, I suppose. I doubt your looks would even change that much ter be honest. You'd still be recognized by the world, I assure you. As fo' yer surname, you could stick to jus' Potter, or Potter-Niccals, or even jus' Niccals if ya' wanted. I could give a shi' less," he said with a shrug. "You pick yer poison with tha' one, mate."

Harry nodded, tilting his head a bit. He wasn't really sure what he'd go with. He definitely still wanted to honor his parents, so maybe a mix of both wouldn't hurt. He supposed it would depend on how he felt after the ritual was completed. He also recognized that this was a huge thing to offer. From what he knew of the man in front of him, he did not take offers lightly and normally seemed to be somewhat of a loner. To offer to become family with someone he barely knew was probably just as big of a step for him as it was for Harry.

Harry could see a lot of good aspects if he were to accept. He'd never have to go back to the Dursleys which meant that he'd no longer be treated as a slave and he wouldn't be beaten. They'd also given him a room of his own, which was something very dear to him. He already found himself bonding with his other housemates in the short time he'd known them. Russel was always on him about making sure he was eating and taking care of himself. Noodle and 2D were the first real friends he'd ever had. Neither one of them judged him and they always seemed to genuinely listen to him and enjoy his company.

Murdoc himself was also a huge deciding factor in this decision. The older man was so complex and at times terrifying. There were times that Harry saw him as he was now, a protector and an advocate for him to be his own person. But other times like what had happened at breakfast he showed signs of being a reckless drunk with a temper. The others seemed to have mixed opinions as well he had noticed. In fact, he wasn't even sure that the other band members actually _liked_ their leader all that much. Most of the time they seemed to just put up with his melodramatic antics. But at the same time, he felt like he'd seen other dynamics to their relationships. Russel seemed to enjoy deep discussions with Murdoc when he was sober and would spend his time chatting away with the Satanist about music and politics. When Murdoc wasn't overly annoyed with 2D, Harry could almost see them as something similar to close friends or even brothers (though most of the time he had to squint to see it). Even small Noodle enjoyed the crass man's company at times. Just yesterday Harry had been amused, watching as she'd dragged him out to the landfill to hunt zombies with her.

 _Kong Studios_ and its inhabitants were very dysfunctional and yet they all fit together in their own strange ways. Harry had honestly never felt more at home in his life.

Suddenly his eyes shined in clarity and a small smile lit his features. Murdoc watched the change curiously, wondering what Harry had decided. They made eye contact, and the boy's eyes warmed slightly. "I've made my decision. I'll do it."

"Excellent!" Murdoc exclaimed, clapping his hands together before hopping up from the bed. "Then come with me. Everything we need's in tha' Winnie!"

"You want to do it _now?_ " Harry asked with wide eyes, hurrying after him as they walked down the quiet hallway at a fast pace.

"Ah, well no time li' the present," Murdoc smirked, "Plus, if yer letter's already arrived here, they might come for yeh soon. It's best to beat 'em at their own game if ya' know wot I mean," he winked as they made it to the lift and descended.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Harry shrugged as he continued to follow along. In truth he was a bit surprised at this turn of events, but he couldn't fault the logic behind it. He really didn't want to lose what might be his only chance at a decent life away from his relatives.

"Here we are lad. In you go," Murdoc opened the door to his Winnie in a somewhat pompous manner and shoved Harry in. The boy's amused laughter could be heard as the rickety door slammed shut.

On the other side of the car park a pair of glowing green eyes watched the two and narrowed in distrust. The small tabby let out a hiss when the door to the infamous Winnebago closed them off from her view. Her silver tufts of fur were puffed out in alarm as she darted behind one of the many abandoned cars in the lot. A strange ripple of magic seemed to pulse around her body for a moment until the once beautiful tabby's body began to grow and elongate until an old woman in long green velvet robes with spectacles and a fierce silver bun on top of her head materialized. She pressed her back against the cold metal of the vehicle she was hiding behind and took several deep breathes as she tried to calm herself. Then she chanced a glance back at the Winnebago with a tight-lipped glare.

"Oh, I don't like this," she muttered. "I _told_ Albus those Muggles were horrible, but now… This is not the place for a small impressionable boy like Harry. That _Niccals_ will corrupt him if we don't do something." And it was clear by the serious look on her face that she truly believed that the older man was up to no good.

She quickly took out a slender piece of wood that looked like an intricately carved stick from a pocket somewhere deep in her robes before tapping it to her nose and transforming again as she skittered out of the car park and made her way to the furthest edge of the property line shuddering lightly as she passed some of the undead. Once there, she returned to her normal form and sneered. "What is this place? It w _reaks_ of Dark Arts. Who knows if those are really zombies or if they are inferi," she muttered in disgust, dusting herself off before glancing back at the imposing building that was _Kong_. "Don't worry, Harry. We'll get you out of this place. I promise."

Then she vanished with a loud _crack!_

Meanwhile, Harry was looking around Murdoc's living quarters in fascination. This place was completely _filthy_. Aunt Petunia would have hated it – _Brilliant!_ There were loads of rubbish and empty bottles scattered across the floor and ashtrays filled with old cigarette butts everywhere. The old ratty furniture had also seen better days, but even Harry could admit that it still looked rather comfortable. The only things that seemed to be well taken care of was a beautiful gleaming bass guitar that was balancing in its own stand and a bookshelf that was crammed with a bunch of books.

Harry raised he eyebrow at this because he hadn't pegged Murdoc for a reader. As he looked around he noticed everything was decorated in some sort of dark almost medieval way. Even though he could clearly see that this vehicle had some form of electricity, there were melted candles everywhere signaling that they were obviously used often. There was also a skull that looked like it had old leathery bat wings glued to it sitting on a nearby shelf (Harry had the urge to dust it because it was covered in cobwebs). A giant black cross was hanging upside down along the main wall in mage to the elder man's religion. Harry remembered back to Murdoc's tattoos the other day and suddenly wondered if the older man wasn't a Goth or something.

Murdoc ignored Harry's curiosity and let him have a look around as he made a beeline for the bookshelf. On the way he carelessly waved his hand over a few of the candles causing them all to light. Harry let out a small gasp at the display, still not used to the idea of magic as he turned his focus back to the green man watching as he picked up an old tome and flipped to the page he'd marked.

"Ah, 'ere we go. _Adoptio Sanguis,_ " he muttered, scanning over the contents and nodding to himself. Still staring at the book, he passed Harry and walked to the kitchenette where a rickety old pot was already being heated on the stove. Harry walked forward having not noticed it before and peered around Murdoc to see that some sort of purple liquid was already bubbling into it. "Don't 'ave any cauldrons currently," Murdoc explained, using his free hand to grab a nearby ladle. Then he closed the book with a snap and narrowed his eyes at his frothing concoction. "This'll do, we jus' need…" he trailed off with a frown before punching the wall, making Harry jump back in fright.

"Cortez, yeh bloody chicken! Ge' yer arse in 'ere!" he shouted before crossing his arms impatiently. Harry couldn't help but feel like the ill-tempered man looked more silly than he did intimidating considering he still had the ladle in one of his hands. A few minutes later, the great raven landed on the window seal and flapped his wings in agitation. "Aw, shove it. Yer fiiiiine," he griped before suddenly reaching out and plucking a feather before the raven had time to settle. Cortez gave an alarmed squawk and darted fussily over to the furthest corner of the room with his red eye glowing eerily in the shadows as he continued making unhappy clicking sounds with his beak.

Murdoc ignored him and presented the stolen feather to Harry. "The feather of a Raven forcibly taken," he explained before dropping it in to the brewing potion on the stove. Then he used his ladle to stir once clockwise and twice counter clockwise. Then he let the potion simmer as he began to change from plum purple to a bright magenta. "Now all that's left is our blood. It must be freely given. You sure you want ter do this, kid?" Murdoc asked him one last time, looking at him expectantly.

Harry gulped a bit, but nodded his head in ascent. "What do we need to do?"

"It's easy. We both cut our palms an' le' it drip into the potion while I do tha' chant that evokes the blood rites," he explained, pulling out two switch blades and flicking them open. When Harry gave him a disbelieving look, Murdoc huffed at him. "Wot? They're sterile. Take the damn thing already."

Harry quickly grabbed one of them and took a moment to admire the handle. His was black with red swirls. It wasn't a rare looking switch blade or anything like that, but he still thought it was pretty neat as he'd never been allowed to handle one by himself before.

"Okay, on the count o' three squeeze it and slash downwards on your palm. One… two… _three._ " They both let out sharp hisses of pain as the smell of iron priced through the air. Murdoc began to mumble something in Latin as they both held their hands over the pot and allowed their blood to drip down freely. The potion started to glow again and Murdoc's chanting grew louder until the magenta liquid turned a deep crimson color.

"Now what?" Harry asked as he cradled his hand to his chest and looked up at Murdoc who had swiped two cups from a rusty strainer next to the sink.

"Now we drink," Murdoc said ominously as he poured them each a cup, his long tongue slither out the side of his mouth lazily. Then he clinked his cup with Harry's. "Bottoms up!"

Harry looked down into his cup with a grimace of disgust before following suite and chugging the still warm liquid. It tasted _putrid_. He fought back the need to vomit as he continued to chug the thick liquid. He'd almost made it to the bottom of the cup when the burning started. He heard Murdoc groan uncomfortably beside him, but he didn't bother to look as he dropped his cup to the floor and staggered against the counter. His veins suddenly felt like they were on fire. He dropped to his knees letting out a sob as pain encompassed him and he felt like he'd black out. Soon it wasn't just his veins that were bringing him pain, but also his body itself as he felt like he was being stretched and pulled to his limits. His eyes were also tingling, but he didn't dare open them as he felt his cheek touch the dirty carpet and let out a silent scream.

It felt like eons, though likely it only took a few minutes for the fire to die out and his body to calm minus a few twitches here and there. He was breathing harshly when he felt a pair of large hands help him sit up. He was trembling, he realized as he felt Murdoc plop down next to him against the cabinets.

" _F-fuck_ ," the bassist hissed, running a hand through his greasy locks as he tried to calm down. His green tinted skin was slick in perspiration and his heart has beating like mad. Whatever he'd been expecting, it hadn't been that kind of pain. Had he known it would hurt so bad, he'd have thought of a different way to accomplish this.

"Did it w-work?" Harry mumbled, gritting his teeth as his body continued to tremble from the after effects of the blood adoption. He'd finally opened his eyes and was looking down at his now healed hand in wonder. His eyes darted up to Murdoc and he frowned a little when he saw that besides looking horribly tired, Murdoc hadn't appeared to change at all.

"Oh, it worked alright," he affirmed, his mismatched eyes taking in Harry's slightly altered appearance. He'd been right, the boy did look nearly the same only now his body was slightly taller than he'd been before. It made him look more his age. His skin was just a shade darker now too, though it was barely noticeable. But the most startling change was Harry's eyes. They were still a vibrant emerald color – that had not changed. Only now there were thick black rings framing the outside of each iris making them stand out even more. It made the kids eyes seem like they were piercing through his very soul.

"Good, I don't want to ever do that again," Harry sighed, and Murdoc nearly chuckled as he realized that Harry's teeth were now slightly pointed, though they weren't nearly as pronounced as his own. "Why did my veins feel like they were cooking me alive?

"It's the blood adoption. I felt tha' way too. Fer me it was stripping some o' my blood away to give to you. Then tha' magic was eating away at some o' yers to make room, see? An' then yer body altered itself once my genetics were mixed with yers," he explained, then smirked outright at the youth. "Welcome ter tha' family, kid."

"Uh, thanks," Harry smiled shyly before carefully standing and yawning. "I'm so _tired_ now."

"Ugh, me too," Murdoc agreed, his already baggy eyes drooping a little more. "It's prolly the process," he guessed, reluctantly getting to his feet.

"What will we tell the others?" Harry asked as he made his way to the door wanting very much to go back upstairs to his bed. He didn't care that it was probably only mid-afternoon. He was tired!

"Eh, we'll get to it when we get there," Murdoc waved him away as he slumped over on his comfy recliner. He'd barely landed on the beat up cushion before a snore escaped his mouth. Harry shook his head in amusement before slipping back out to the carpark. Surprisingly he didn't run into anyone on his way to his room.

Before collapsing on his bed, he took a moment to look over his new features and found that he kind of liked the new changes. If he wasn't so sleepy he'd have looked some more but he could barely stand up straight anymore. Giving in, he flopped down onto his bed with a sigh and let his dreams carry him away.

He knew there'd probably be a lot to discuss soon, but he'd worry about it later when he was more awake.

* * *

 **A/N:** Dumbledore and McGonagall come to _Kong_ next chapter! Will they be able to successfully take Harry away or will they be in for a surprise? I promise it will be very eventful! :D Cheers!

Sorry if this chapter was a little dry. I'm not very good at writing about potions so I just kind of made something up, lol.


	6. Chapter 6

**Harry Potter and the Flip of a Niccal**

 _By: KKM_

 _Disclaimer:_ I do not own the _Harry Potter_ series or any associated characters. _Harry Potter_ is © J. K. Rowling. I also do not own the _Gorillaz_ or any associated characters/songs. _Gorillaz_ are © Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.

* * *

 **Comments:**

 _ **Nami**_ _ **:**_ I'm really excited for this chapter too! I hope you like it!

* * *

 **Last Time:**

 _"What will we tell the others?" Harry asked as he made his way to the door wanting very much to go back upstairs to his bed. He didn't care that it was probably only mid-afternoon. He was tired!_

 _"Eh, we'll get to it when we get there," Murdoc waved him away as he slumped over on his comfy recliner. He'd barely landed on the beat up cushion before a snore escaped his mouth. Harry shook his head in amusement before slipping back out to the carpark. Surprisingly he didn't run into anyone on his way to his room._

 _Before collapsing on his bed, he took a moment to look over his new features and found that he kind of liked the new changes. If he wasn't so sleepy he'd have looked some more but he could barely stand up straight anymore. Giving in, he flopped down onto his bed with a sigh and let his dreams carry him away._

 _He knew there'd probably be a lot to discuss soon, but he'd worry about it later when he was more awake._

(Page Break)

 **Chapter 6: The Cat's out of the Bag**

Harry groaned sleepily as the sound of shouting from somewhere tugged him from the deep sleep he'd been enjoying. He felt a lot better than he had before the blood adoption, but his muscles were still tired and achy. He glanced at the clock on his nightstand and laughed quietly to himself. He'd only been asleep for a little over four hours and yet he felt completely energized as he rolled off of his bed and stretched. Since he was a bit taller now, his new clothes were already slightly too short so he went ahead and tossed away the red shirt he'd been wearing and rifled through his closet to find some of the old shirts 2D and Murdoc had given him before. He found a navy shirt with a yellow ducky that had gotten tangled in tape. Below the picture was a caption that read, " _Duck Tape."_ His pants were still okay. He was still limber enough to wear them comfortably even though they were a little short now and showed his ankles.

He would have liked to have had the time to glance at himself one more time in the mirror since he hadn't had much of a chance to take in his new appearance since the night before, but the shouting from the other room hadn't stopped yet and his curiosity was getting the better of him. Frowning, he quickly exited his room and slipped down the hall.

He found the source of the noise in the entrance room. He stayed in the shadows of the hall for a moment so that he could observe what was happening. Years of living with the Dursley's had taught him to enter rooms like this with caution. Russel was having a heated argument at the front door where a furious looking old lady in what appeared to be a long green Halloween robe of some sort was jabbing him in the chest with her boney finger. Behind Russel, 2D and Noodle were standing off to the side looking equally as tense. 2D looked to be on the edge of having a nervous breakdown as his head bobbed sideways back and forth between the arguing pair. His long, spidery fingers were fidgeting shakily in front of him. Noodle was standing absolutely still on high alert. She was frowning fiercely with her brows knitted in concentration as she listened carefully to what they were saying.

In the short time Harry had been with the Gorillaz, he had learned not to underestimate Noodle. She was a _lot_ smarter than he had originally given her credit for. When he'd first met her, he'd wrongly assumed that she only spoke Japanese and had been worried that there might be a language barrier even though she at least appeared to understand English. But it turned out that Noodle was just as cautious as him, if not more so. She had purposely allowed him to think that way at first because he was a stranger. It turned out that she actually _did_ know how to speak English, it was just very broken and she hated it when the boys teased her about it. So instead, she usually just answered them in Japanese which always seemed to piss Murdoc off to no end. But from what 2D had told him the other day, Noodle was actually rather pleased because over time the boys had started to understand some of the things she was saying and had begun to continue in conversation with her as if it was perfectly normal. The breakthrough had apparently happened during the world tour for their band. Since then, there wasn't as many misunderstandings and Noodle was pleased that she could still hold onto something from her heritage even though she'd apparently been suffering from amnesia and couldn't actually remember anything after tumbling out of her FedEx box. _That_ in itself had been an amazing story. Harry hadn't believed it was true until Russel had confirmed it. He'd thought 2D and Noodle had been trying to pull one over on him at first.

Shaking his head distractedly, Harry kept in his hiding spot and lifted his gaze from the pensive Noodle to the argument at hand. His eyebrows lifted in surprise and concern when he realized the fight was about _him_.

"Mister Hobbs, I assure you I plan to take Mister Potter back to Hogwarts with me this instant!" The old woman hissed, her mouth forming a strict line that made Harry think of an enraged nun about to whack a student with a ruler. "This is absolutely absurd! Mister Potter was practically kidnapped from his home. He cannot stay in this- this awful _place_." She scowled, her eyes lingering on a small pile of discarded pizza boxes that had obviously been sitting in that particular corner for a long time. She nearly turned green when a small cockroach scurried from the one on top and disappeared into one toward the bottom. "This is _no_ place for a child. It's absolutely filthy here!"

"I understand your concerns," Russel replied through gritted teeth trying very hard not to lose his temper, "But I can't let you just take him without any authority ma'am. You don't even have any paperwork that says you can take him and we're not letting him go back to that hellhole he lived in before."

"This is _no_ place for a child. It's absolutely filthy here!" The woman continued to rant, "Not to mention that the place reeks of necromancy. Don't think I haven't seen those _things_ outside."

Harry nearly yelped in surprise as a clawed hand suddenly rested on his shoulder. He looked up to find Murdoc beside him listening in on the conversation as well. The older man looked down and gave the boy's shoulder a squeeze before letting go and entering the room only far enough so he could lean casually against the doorframe of the hall. He crossed his ankles casually with a rebellious cigarette dangling from his lips and his arms crossed as his mismatches eyes took in the room with a slightly smug twinkle to them. Harry got the strange idea that the older man had expected this confrontation and was prepared to enjoy it. He cautiously moved forward a little so that he too was now in view, but still behind Murdoc's protection.

"I'll 'ave you know, those zombies came as a bonus with tha' real-estate," Murdoc stated with a smirk, successfully capturing everyone's attention as all eyes suddenly zoned in on him. "Long time no see, Professa' McGonagall."

 _"Murdoc Niccals,_ " Professor McGonagall sniffed, her nose crinkling as if she'd sniffed something particularly fowl. "I wish I could say it was a pleasure, but we both know it would be a lie. You had so much potential."

"Ah, yesss. _Potential_." Murdoc cackled nastily as he stood up straight and walked toward her. Russel backed away slightly with a frown and moved to join the other two as bystanders though he was prepared to jump back in the fray if needed. "But that's no' really enough fer your fancy little boarding school, now is it? Heheh."

Professor McGonagall narrowed her eyes and gave him her most stern look. "Be that as it may, you could have made something of yourself. I've heard all about you and your dangerous shenanigans," she said, giving a pointed look toward the singer who audibly gulped as they made eye contact. He practically sagged in relief when the older woman released him from her iron gaze. "Dark Arts, _Satanism,_ drug problems, alcohol abuse, physical abuse, kidnapping, midnight escapades… is there anything illegal you _haven't_ done? It's a wonder you've managed to stay free this long. But I dare say it won't last. Yes, I know all about how you turned out and I'm not about to let you corrupt that innocent boy."

"Oh, ge' off yer high-horse, you sandy cunt!" Murdoc growled, his arms uncrossing allowing his balled fists to drop to his sides as he bared his jagged discolored teeth at her. "Don't pretend fer a second that you eva' gave a _shit_ about how I turned out. You more than anyone coulda' put a stop to it all."

Harry wasn't sure what Murdoc was talking about and it looked like the other Gorillaz besides Russ looked confused as well. Professor McGonagall apparently understood the message loud and clear though as he face paled before her cheeks flushed bright red the next.

"To be able to change, you must first _want_ to change and I'm not sure that you ever did," she replied shrewdly, "No matter; the past cannot be changed. The facts are that Mister Potter does not belong here and in a few minutes Albus will arrive and we will take Harry to safety."

Murdoc laughed mirthlessly at her and shook his head. "Yer a bloody liar," he muttered before taunting her again. "Where was Harry's so-called 'safety' when 'e was left with those awful muggles? Who was supposed ter be keepin' an eye on 'im all these years, eh? Was it you? If so, you did a righ' shit job 'o that, didn' ya?" he spat his cigarette to the ground and stomped on it with his boot. "Yer lil' school only gives a shit about those who 'ave enough money to go there. Don't give me any o' this bullshit about how they give safety to those in need or you'd 'ave taken me the nigh' you met my father," he finished with a low, dangerous voice that made everyone in the room go still.

While everyone in the room stood frozen like statues, Harry's mind was reeling. Was he hearing right? Had Murdoc been in a similar position to what he'd been going through and this woman had refused to help him because of something as trivial as money? That didn't sit well with him at all. Yes, he had always known that Murdoc had been fairly rough around the edges and had most likely done some deplorable things in his life, but at the same time Harry had seen that he older man was more complex than that. In his own snarky way he did seem to care about them. Maybe _Kong_ wasn't the nicest place in the world, but it was a home. Murdoc wasn't the nicest person to live with, but he still made sure that they all had everything that they needed. Without Murdoc, Harry was sure that right this very moment he'd be locked away in his little cupboard wondering what freedom was like and if it was half as great as the telly. If Harry and Murdoc roles were reversed, would he have been denied entry too? Did they only want him because of that Voldy guy Murdoc had said murdered his family? Did they only want him now because he was suddenly famous? Where had they been before when he needed help the most?

The air around everyone suddenly felt heavy and thick with static as Harry stepped out of his hiding place and glared up at professor McGonagall with determination. "I decline going with you. My home is here and I'm not going to go anywhere with you or this Albus person," he said calmly. His emerald eyes with ebony rings around the irises made him look even fiercer than before. Several gasps were released around the room. 2D and Noodle were eyeing his new appearance in confusion while Russel appeared more curious and slightly troubled over it. Even though Harry still looked like a Potter, Russel could see that the small changes in him made him resemble their leader in a strange way. His milky gaze shifted over to Murdoc whose eyes were blazing with pride and smugness.

Professor McGonagall, who had only seen Harry recently a few times in her animagus form, did not seem to notice the changes. As a cat it was hard to judge height. As for the child's other minor changes, because of the static in the air she'd easily written them off as the effects of his accidental magic.

"Harry, you don't know what you are saying. It's too dangerous here. We need to leave at once," she said in a more soothing voice. Her eyes were not cold when she looked at him, but instead appeared warm and perhaps somewhat pitying.

He didn't need her pity.

"No, ma'am," Harry shook his head again. "I think it's you who doesn't understand. I don't know whatever past you have with him, but I don't appreciate you talking to my family like this." At the word family, Professor McGonagall flinched and opened her mouth to rebuttal, but Harry beat her to the punch. "They _are_ my family now. These people have shown me more kindness in the short time that they've known me than I can even count having ever received on one hand. This man," he gestured toward Murdoc, "saved my life and deserves respect. It is _you_ who are trespassing here." His face softened only slightly when he saw her stricken face and he sighed. "Look, I know you seemed to have come here with good intentions but I'm happy here. This is where I belong."

"But Mister Potter, there's so much that you don't understand. There is a man in our world whose supporters would be eager to get ahold of you and you need your education," she tried to reason. "This man is practically an outlaw. You wouldn't be safe here."

"Voldemort doesn't scare me," Harry said evenly, causing the Professor to shudder at the sound of his name. He would have added more to that, but a second unwelcomed guest had appeared in the doorway.

"That is quite enough." His voice was soft and yet firm at the same time. But Harry wasn't paying attention to the much older man's voice. Instead, he was busy gaping at his appearance. His beard was so long that it hung to the man's waist and his robe and hat were a bright royal blue with purple trim. A pair of half-moon spectacles were resting on his crooked nose causing his bright blue eyes to magnify behind the lenses. This man looked every bit like what Harry imagined that all wizards should be. He remembered when he was in school how the other children would tell stories about wizards like Gandalf and Merlin from fiction books their parents had read them. The descriptions of those wizards to the one standing in front of him now dulled in comparison. "Harry, my name is Professor Dumbledore. You will be coming with us. I'm sorry it has to be this way."

Harry noticed that the older man was about to pull something from his robe and did the first thing that came to mind – he dove behind a surprised looking Murdoc as the old man swished his wand high over his head and shouted, " _Obliviate!_ "

Harry stayed trembling behind Murdoc and squeezed his eyes shut as a bright light flashed into the room, his earlier braveness forgotten. He felt Murdoc tense in front of him, but then the bassist relaxed and let out a chuckle. "Is that _all_ , old man?"

Harry peeked his eyes open in confusion and then looked over to see Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall both gaping at them all in confusion. Harry looked around the room seeing that Murdoc looked positively gleeful, 2D looked confused, and Russel and Noodle both just looked pissed.

"Um, wos tha' supposed to do somefing?" 2D asked, looking at the wizard with confused hallow eyes. He scratched his head and scrunched his brow as if in deep thought before shrugging. "Nuffin feel different. I din' much like that bright light though."

"H-how is that possible?" Professor McGonagall asked, looking pale. While she didn't approve of what Albus had just tried to do, it frightened her that a spell from such a powerful wizard hadn't worked.

Professor Dumbledore's eyes no longer twinkled as he looked around the room with a befuddled frown.

"Nice try, old man, but you'll 'ave ter do betta' than that," Murdoc leered at them, his red eye glinting in delight. "I've go' friends in higher places than you," he said ominously before nodding to the rest of the band. "And good luck tryin' ter do away with this lot. The fat one's possessed by the spirits o' the undead. That idiot," he pointed behind him at 2D with his clawed thumb, "doesn't 'ave a brain left to erase. An' who the hell knows why it didn' work on the girl. I'm sure it's something equally as weird," he rolled his eyes before focusing back on the two disbelieving professors. "I tend to collect all the misfits tha' don't fit in either world, in case yeh hadn't noticed."

"Yes, well," Professor Dumbledore took off his glasses a moment, cleaning them in agitation with the sleeve of his robe before focusing his attention back onto the green man. "Be that as it may, we must take Harry back to his relatives. They are his legal guardians and it would not be safe for him to stay here."

" _What!?_ " Harry exclaimed, shooting McGonagall a betrayed look. Hadn't Professor McGonagall just said that he would be going to a school instead? And now this man was here saying the opposite? "I'm not going back to them. I _hate_ it there!" He frantically looked up at Murdoc, hoping beyond hope that what the older man had said was true and that they wouldn't be able to take him because of the blood adoption. He was relieved to see that Murdoc still looked just as arrogant as before as if he was biding his time and waiting for the older man to lay down all of his cards.

"Sometimes we have to make the best of situations we don't like, Harry," Albus tried to explain. "I assume that since you know who Voldemort is, then you know he killed your parents?" Harry nodded slowly, wondering where the old wizard was going with this. "The night your mother died, she placed a special protection on you that allows you to be safe so long as you are living with a blood relative. At your Aunt and Uncle's you would be safe and no one would be able to harm you."

"Not be able to harm me?" Harry exploded again, his temper getting wildly out of control again. "What about those _inside_ the residence? Have you even _met_ my family!?"

"Now, Harry I'm sure it's not so bad," Albus said, putting up his hand as Harry tried to interrupt again. "If you don't come with me right now, I will have to contact the Ministry. I'm sure the Aurors would be interested to know your whereabouts, Mr. Niccals," Albus threatened.

Harry stepped backwards in horror. This man wasn't listening to him. He didn't understand anything that Harry was trying to say. His vision was swimming as he fought hard not to cry. He didn't know what Aurors were, but he didn't want his new father to be taken away from him either. Noodle appeared at his side and pulled him back toward 2D and Russel as he hugged him from the side tightly and glared.2D, in a rare moment of clarity, also seemed to realize how serious the situation was as he and Russel leaned forward protectively as if they planned to fight anyone that would try to take Harry away.

Murdoc stayed exactly as he was, looking unconcerned as he held the older wizard's threatening gaze. "Ohhh, I wouldn't do tha' if I were you. Heheh," He broke the other man's gaze and plucked another cigarette from his pocket. He made a show of lighting it and taking a long drag with a pleased groan before blowing the smoke into the other man's face rudely. "Do you know wot this is, Dumbles?" he asked, holding up his hand to show them the small scar on the palm of his hand. "Show them yours too, kid." Harry didn't move from Noodle's grasp as he lifted his palm up to show his twin scar.

Albus' eyes looked from Murdoc's hand to Harry's before widening in understanding as he looked closer at Harry. The boy still looked like a Potter, but now it was clear that he also resembled a Niccals.

"Merlin's beard," Minerva mumbled, "What have you done…?"

"I did wha' was necessary," Murdoc told them, taking another drag. "Let me make this very clear to you. Harry is stayin' right here at _Kong_. By tha' time you lot leave, this place will be unplottable. If yeh involve the Ministry in this little crusade of yers, I'll tell 'em _exactly_ what condition I found 'im in and how no one bothered checkin' on the Chosen One's well-being all these years. I'm willin' ter bet tha' your name'll come up in that discussion somewhere and _you_ 'll be held fully responsible." He paused, taking a couple more puffs before continuing. "As fer the protection, I think you're smart enough to recognize a blood adoption when yeh see one. It's been completed correctly, I assure you. Tha' means _I_ share blood with him and his protections will remain in place. Any questions?"

"B-but!" Minerva was momentarily speechless. "Albus, this is outrageous! Surely there's something you can…" she trailed off, seeing that the headmaster's face had become rather grim. Instead she turned to Harry. "Harry, surely you can see that this man has duped you? He's no father – just look at him!" Her Scottish accent was more pronounced as her voice raised an octave. "Lilly and James would be so _disappointed_ …"

" _How dare you,"_ Harry practically hissed as he shook Noodle off of him and stepped forward. "How do you know what they'd want? Do you think they'd enjoy the idea of me living with a family that hates and beats me? Murdoc was right about you. You only want me to come with you for selfish reasons. These are the first people who have ever treated me nicely. I'll never replace my parents, nor do I want to. But I have a chance to have a dad now and a somewhat normal life. I've dreamed about this my whole life and you people only care about taking me away again," he looked up at Murdoc and sighed. "I think we're through here," he told him before turning and walking passed the others and disappearing toward his room.

"You heard 'im," Murdoc growled, "leave now or we'll make you leave."

Dumbledore and McGonagall looked around at the others one more time before shaking their heads and turning away. "This is a mistake, Mister Niccals. You will see that someday," Albus warned as they made their exit.

"Yeah, yeah," Murdoc waved them away, "An' don't let the door hitcha' on yer arse on the way out!" he shouted at them. In the distance they could hear to pops signaling what Murdoc knew was disappiration.

"Maaan, I knew you were gonna' do somethin' crazy," Russel said with a sigh, rubbing his forehead.

"I told you that I _always_ get what I want," he replied with a snot. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to ward the building from more intruders."

"Bu' wot 'bout 'Arry?" 2D asked, with a nervous frown.

"Just leave him be for now. When I'm done, I'll talk ter him," Murdoc assured them as he pressed the button for the lift so he could go back to his Winnie and look up the proper spells he'd need.

Meanwhile Noodle had already snuck out of the room and had followed Harry to his room. When she cautiously opened the door, she found Harry upset and sitting on the edge of his bed staring at nothing. She bit her lip and slipped into the room and sat next to him in silent support.

"Thanks, Noodle." He muttered before becoming silent again. They stayed like that for a long while waiting until Murdoc would come.

* * *

 **A/N:** This chapter was actually the very first scene I dreamed about that inspired me to write this story. I always thought the idea of Dumbledore trying to Obliviate them and it not working would be funny. Can you imagine the look on his face? I really think it wouldn't work on them for multiple reasons. Murdoc is immortal and has a deal with the devil that would protect him. I would imagine that since spirits reside in Russel's head, his mind would be pretty well protected. For 2D since he already has problems from his multiple head traumas, I doubt obliviation would work because he's already too used to having his head scrambled. As for Noodle, since she's a super soldier and meditates a lot she may have natural barriers that protect her mind automatically. If you're curious as to why Harry wasn't affected, it's because he hid behind Murdoc who was able to protect them both.

What do you think?


	7. Chapter 7

**Harry Potter and the Flip of a Niccal**

 _By: KKM_

 _Disclaimer:_ I do not own the _Harry Potter_ series or any associated characters. _Harry Potter_ is © J. K. Rowling. I also do not own the _Gorillaz_ or any associated characters/songs. _Gorillaz_ are © Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.

* * *

 **Comments:**

 _ **PersonaQeminod1**_ _ **:**_ I think Harry is finding good friends within the band. He has a sense of being now and is finally starting to become independent. Thank you for reading!

 **nanoidManicist:** Lol, you think so? Tell your friends! I'm really trying my best to combine my two favorite fandoms. I like good, long stories too so hopefully I can keep you entertained. Long comments like yours keep me motivated to keep writing so thank you for taking the time to tell me what you think.

 **Renamonreborn:** Thank you for your support!

* * *

 **Last Time:**

 _"Maaan, I knew you were gonna' do somethin' crazy," Russel said with a sigh, rubbing his forehead._

 _"I told you that I always get what I want," he replied with a snot. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to ward the building from more intruders."_

 _"Bu' wot 'bout 'Arry?" 2D asked, with a nervous frown._

 _"Just leave him be for now. When I'm done, I'll talk ter him," Murdoc assured them as he pressed the button for the lift so he could go back to his Winnie and look up the proper spells he'd need._

 _Meanwhile Noodle had already snuck out of the room and had followed Harry to his room. When she cautiously opened the door, she found Harry upset and sitting on the edge of his bed staring at nothing. She bit her lip and slipped into the room and sat next to him in silent support._

 _"Thanks, Noodle." He muttered before becoming silent again. They stayed like that for a long while waiting until Murdoc would come._

* * *

 **Chapter 7: The Boys-Who-Were-Forgotten**

A couple of hours had passed before Murdoc was finally heading down the hall toward Harry's room with a sigh of relief. _Kong Studios_ was completely unplottable now and was surrounded by all of the wards he could find. He doubted that even the _Ministry of Magic_ could find them now. He'd made Russel the secret keeper because he knew that nothing would be able to get past the bigger man.

Now that he was finished with that, he knew that Harry would most likely want to talk about what happened. Murdoc could clearly remember the curiosity looming in those emerald eyes as he'd argued with Professor McGonagall at the door. There was no use in hiding the past since he felt that he'd made his dislike of the woman as clear as she had her own for him. So instead, he was prepared as he paused in front of his new son's door with a strange looking homemade ceramic pot tucked under his arm.

"Oi, you still awake?" he asked redundantly. He'd already heard Harry and Noodle's quiet murmurs on the other side of the door before he'd made himself known. He shifted his weight impatiently as he heard Noodle's soft steps pitter-patter to the door before she threw it open and looked up at him. "Beat it, Squirt," he ordered, using his empty hand to ruffle her hair. It was one of the few times he'd seen her lately without her helmet. He laughed as her little face scrunched up in displeasure.

"Watashi no kami ni furenaide kudasai. Anata wa tsukemonodesu," she insulted as she swatted his hand away from her. Before she left, she turned and gave Harry a big smile and a thumbs up before disappearing down the hall.

Murdoc rolled his eyes and kicked the door shut with his heel. "Fuckin' menace," he muttered fondly before crossing the room and approaching Harry who was still sitting on the edge of his bed.

"What's that thing?" he asked as he watched the older man push everything off of his nightstand before placing the poorly made ceramic pot on it and dragging it closer to them. As he looked closer at it, the pot appeared to have some sort of symbols etched crudely all around it.

"It's a homemade pensive," Murdoc answered absently as he shoved his hands in his pockets obviously trying to find something. "Now where tha' fuck'd I put- Ah!" he smirked as he pulled a small bottle from his back pocket that held what looked like pearly water inside. He un-corked it and poured it into the pot before tapping his finger into the liquid causing it to ripple. Harry watched in fascination as with each ripple, the water seemed to pulse and glow.

Murdoc nodded at it, seemingly pleased with the potion's reaction before plopping down on the other corner of Harry's bed. "Now, I take it you've go' lots of questions?" he asked, quirking his brow at the boy.

"Well… yeah," Harry admitted, his face flushing a little as he tried to think of a way to pry without being rude.

"Out with it already, kid!"

"Alright, alright," Harry winced, his gaze moving back to the strange glowing bowl as he tried to get his words in order. "It's just that Professor McGonagall seemed to know you personally. Almost as if you were like me once…"

Murdoc let out a long suffering sigh and began to glare down at the bowl himself. He wasn't really a fan of sharing his personals but once again he reminded himself that this would help him gain a better relationship with the boy. He'd already come this far, so there was no reason not to get to know the kid properly. The blood adoption pretty much threw all of that out of the water so he'd have to get used to moments like these more often he supposed.

"I _was_ li' you once," Murdoc admitted slowly, the frown lines at the corners of his lips seeming to deepen as he tried to think out how he wanted to explain this. His eyes darted over and met Harry's weary gaze. "My situation was a lo' like yers, in fact. I might even gander ter say tha' your uncle might've been a decent chap compared to my ol' Pop." When Harry looked like he was about to disagree, the green man spoke again. "In fact, if I hadn't been useful, he might've just sold me outright."

" _Sold?"_ Harry repeated, narrowing his eyes as he tried to wrap his head around the idea.

"Oh yes," Murdoc nodded with a bitter tone. "Money was all tha' was important. Heh, he taught me that much, I suppose. When my brother an' I weren't stealin' an' dealin', we was performing instead. Different shows here an' there. That fucker even 'ad me singin' Pinocchio ter people. That's right _, me - Pinochio!_ I was a ruddy joke to 'im. But I brought in the dough, an' that's wot he wanted. But when the money was tight an' my brother an' I weren't reelin' it in… that's the ticket, innit? Wot good were we to him 'cept maybe as punchin' bags every now an' then?"

Harry looked away as they lapsed into silence. Yes, his aunt and uncle had been cruel and he'd also been beaten, but they'd never stooped so low as to have him work as a sideshow for money. He thought about what he knew about Murdoc and how he acted. How would things have been different for the older man had he not been subjected to horrible things like that all of his life.

"Ah, don' think too hard on it," Murdoc waived his pity away. "I've been through some shit, but I've also dealt plenty of it. I've neva' been an innocent party to none of it. I still steal an' do plenty of stupid shit that could get me into loooooads of trouble," as he said this, his eyes rolled into a complete circle as if he'd imagined every bad thing he'd done encompassed in that one area. "I'm a bi' twisted, you see. Much as I dun' like the ol' fuck, I am a spiitin' image of my father. I love money, women, drinking, drugs, violence, you name it… but there's one big difference an' that's the real kicker. In some weird fucked up wayor another, I take care of my lot. Sometimes we don't live the nicest, but everyone has all they need and everyone is relatively safe here. No one starves. No one is left to fend for themselves."

"I can see that," Harry nodded, thinking about how Murdoc interacted with each of his band mates. There were times when none of them could stand each other and other times where they were all thick as thieves and Murdoc was in the center of it all. For all the horrible moods and behavior, he never could be accused of abandoning them. Sure, Harry had seen him stomp away from things like an overgrown child after being threatened to get his ass kicked, but later on he would return as if everything had been water under the bridge. "Unconventional, yet functional. But what does all of this have to do with Professor McGonagall?"

"Because to fully understand why she hates me, you 'ave to understand what she saw and why later on she'd 'ave drawn her own conclusions based on the rumors. Really, I don't suppose I blame her for tha' part. But I _do_ fully blame 'er for leaving me where she did. She's no more a protector than a pussy cat's a lion."

Harry watched in wonder as Murdoc closed his eyes and tapped his temple with one of his long discolored nails. He made an odd swirling motion with his finger until a strange translucent wisp began to appear from thin air. Then he suddenly pinched the strand and tugged as his heavily drooping eyes opened to stare dispassionately at the strange substance grasped between his fingers.

"Did that just come out of your _head?_ " Harry asked, somewhere between horrified and insanely curious about what he was witnessing. Murdoc looked up at him and nodded before tossing the wisp into the clay pot and stirring with the tip of his nail again.

"It's a memory," he explained as he pulled his hand away again. "A pensive lets you either store or relive memories at your leisure."

"How does it work?"

"All you 'ave to do is stick yer head in it an' open yer eyes." He responded simply, then gave a snort of amusement at Harry's incredulous gaze. "I promise you won't drown an' I'll be in there with you."

Harry nodded and teetered a bit in his seat as he looked down at the strange glowing liquid. Every now and then he thought he'd seen an image flickering just beneath the surface of the now constant ripples, but he wasn't sure. He bit his lip in a moment of indecision before nodding to himself and taking a deep breath before leaning over and dipping his face into the shimmering solution.

It wasn't wet feeling like he'd imagined it would be before touching it. In fact, it didn't feel like he was submerged into anything at all. At first he felt a coolness that tickled at his skin like peppermint, but then it was as if his whole being had passed through a portal of some sort. He could feel the magic and energy working around him as if he was suspended in time and space, but at no point did he feel terrified or uncomfortable as it encompassed him.

And then his feet touched the ground.

At first, the world around him was blurry and then the world seemed to pulse around him as it popped into focus and everything down to the tiniest detail became visible. He was standing in the middle of a narrow street that looked like it hadn't been paved in years. There were cracks all along the pavement and even the curbs looked worse for wear and had some crumbling on the edges. Every house looked worn and the lawns were uncared for. There seemed to be a permanent dark cloud hanging over the ratty old neighborhood and Harry found himself having trouble imagining it had ever been sunny here.

As he looked around, he couldn't help but to feel the pull of familiarity as if he'd seen this place before. Then he took in a sharp inhale of breath when he saw a street sign further down the rows.

" _Spinners End_ ," Harry read out loud breathlessly as his emerald eyes took in every boarded up window and broken fence post. "You were from here?" he asked wearily, turning around when he felt Murdoc's presence behind him.

"Not originally," Murdoc admitted, his mismatched eyes roaming their surroundings in boredom with a hint of what could have been loathing. "I was originally from Stoke-On-Trent. Me Mum had me inna' halfway house before I was dumped on me Pop's doorstep. Neva' did get to meet 'er. She died befo' I ever really go' the chance. Wasn't at all well in the mind let alone health-wise from wot I was told. She'd have neva' been able to take care of me. Me Pop was always on tha' move. We came 'ere when he was havin' a spot of trouble makin' money when I was around nine. We stayed fer 'bout three years before we ended up movin' again."

The whole time he spoke, Murdoc's voice remained strangely detached as if he was hosting a documentary on someone else's life. Harry had the strange feeling that he was trying very hard to pretend he was unaffected by being here. Harry was about to tell him that he didn't need to see these memories to believe him, when the older man's eyes suddenly lit up as he looked down the street passed Harry.

Harry quickly turned around to see a group of three walking toward them from the end of the street. There were two dark haired boys and a girl who was walking between them with long red hair. All of them looked around his age. Murdoc was the only one he recognized from the bunch. Not much had changed about his looks over the years it seemed. He still wore the same bowl cut hair and had a similar style to what he wore now. Harry was amused to note that the younger and the older version of the man were both wearing black long-sleeved thermals and jeans – the only thing that seemed to be missing from the younger's outfit was he did not yet have the golden upside-down cross. Young Murdoc's nose seemed to have been broken even back then making Harry wonder how young he'd been the first time it had happened. The main differences were that the little boy's outfit had seen better days and had several rips and frays. His younger self also only had dark brown eyes instead of mismatched and his skin was more of an olive toned tan instead of the green he sported today. But upon closer inspection, Harry could see the warning signs of abuse as the boy seemed unnaturally thin and gaunt. He also appeared to be limping a little, favoring his right foot when he walked, though it was barely noticeable.

In fact, now that he was looking, the other boy didn't seem to be much better off. This child was taller than both of the others and unnaturally pale. He had long greasy hair that hung limply to his shoulders and his eyes seemed to constantly be on the lookout for anything suspicious. He also had a rather large nose that Harry thought looked a bit like a bird's beak. He appeared to be somewhat tense as his hands were clenched in fists just visible under the sleeved of his oversized hoody.

The only one of the children that looked remotely healthy at all was the girl who was walking with ease between them as her bright emerald eyes glanced back and forth between her two rugged companions. She stood out in stark contrast with them in her tan colored long sleeved top with little brown flower patterns on it. It was then that Harry noticed that her jeans sort of looked like bellbottoms in a way and he silently wondered what year it was. He couldn't help but feel the girl was beautiful will her long flowing hair that reached mid-back. It was for the most part straight except for a single braid hidden between the strands on the left side of her head. There was something familiar about her, but Harry couldn't quite figure out what. He knew he'd never met anyone that looked like her before and yet he felt an internal tug as if he'd seen her before in his dreams.

She stepped ahead of them suddenly and turned around to face her two companions with a huff as she crossed her arms and eyed them critically. "Are you sure you should go back now? He's just going to take it out on you again," she said with a frown, her eyes locking with Murdoc's in fierce determination. Harry was briefly reminded of a lioness he'd seen at the zoo once protecting her cubs. This girl seemed to radiate the definition of protective as she continued gazing at the shorter of the two boys.

"Oh, bloody hell," the smaller Murdoc groaned, breaking eye contact as he rolled his eyes at her and let out a long-suffering sigh. "Not this rubbish again!"

"Lilly, we've been over this," the other boy frowned, raising his brow at her as he too crossed his arms. "If he doesn't go back it will be ten times worse. Think of what happened last time…"

All three children cringed at the reminder and Lilly shook her head, biting her lip. "But, it's not fair! No one deserves that, Severus," she tried to reason and then looked back at Murdoc and tried again. "You could stay with us. Mum and Dad really wouldn't mind. Severus has stayed before and they didn't have a problem with it." As she spoke, the boy with the long black hair sneered at her and let out a snort.

"Lilly, that's hardly the same. Tobias has Mum as a buffer. She calms him down when I'm away," Severus pointed out, then nodded to his now quiet friend. "Murdoc doesn't have that luxury. His brother's probably off somewhere too which means that no matter what, he's going to get the snot beat out of him. That's just how it is, Lils."

"He's right, love," Murdoc said finally. "But I'm used to it. S'alright. He'll get bored an' probably pass out afta' a time." When he shrugged afterwards, Lilly seemed to become more enraged and opened her mouth to say more but Murdoc interrupted her with a smirk. "'Sides, I'm Murdoc Niccals. Nuffin' could take me out, love. Afta' all, who'd be around to annoy you lot if I was gone?"

His arrogance had the desired effect as her frown cracked into an annoyed smile. "You're a right jackass is more like it," she muttered and launched forward to give him a tight hug. He stiffened immediately on contact as if he wasn't used to such pleasantries and patted her back awkwardly. Harry noticed that Murdoc's eyes quickly met the slightly jealous ones of Severus and smirked. But when Severus's eyes narrowed at him, Murdoc looked more amused than anything as if he was just taking a piss at his friend.

"That's enough of that," Murdoc grimaced and shook as if her affection grossed him out when she finally let him go. She merely giggled and rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine. Now fuck off, you two. It's getting' late."

Lilly gave him a reproachful look for his use of foul language, but nodded. "Fine, but come meet us at the park when you can. Don't wait a week like last time. It was _torture_." She gave him one last hug and then began walking back up the street.

Severus stayed a moment longer, giving his friend a look of silent understanding. They had a lot in common in this area of their lives and it was obvious that Severus understood the dynamic of Murdoc's abuse in a wat that their friend Lilly did not. "Take care, Niccals."

"Likewise, Snape." Murdoc said with a mock salute before watching as the boy swiftly turned away and easily caught up to the redhead with his long strides. Murdoc quickly turned away from their retreating forms and shoved his hands in his pockets before kicking a rock out of his way and reluctantly continuing his trek down the street. He never did see Lilly's worried gaze as she snuck one last backwards look at him before Severus tugged her away and they disappeared down a different street.

"That girl seemed really worried about you," Harry said, looking up at the older version of Murdoc who was still staring at the spot where the trio had been standing moments before. "Her name was Lilly, like my mother," he added thoughtfully, not really reading into it much more than that.

That seemed to snap Murdoc out of his daze as he barked out a laugh of incredulity. That _was_ your mom, kid. Didn't you recognize her?" he asked as they began to follow young Murdoc back to his house. When the younger version slipped inside, Murdoc held Harry back and they waited. There was no reason to have Harry watch that part.

"B-but, I thought you said you didn't know my parents!" Harry exclaimed in wide-eyed confusion.

"I didn't really. I only knew yer mom for a few years when we wos kids. When her an' Severus disappeared to Hogwarts, I was shipped off ter a boardin' school called Sodsworth Comprehensive. Fell out of touch with her an' maybe talked the Severus a handful o' times after that before 'e drifted away too. It happens. I wasn't sore about it or nothing," he shrugged. They both tried to ignore the shouting and sounds of broken glass coming from within the home as they continued to stand there.

A few minutes later, the front door slammed again when young Murdoc came limping out and breathing heavily. His left cheek and eye were all bruised and bloody. He had a busted lip too. He sighed heavily and plopped down onto the top step of the rotting porch before pulling out a small hand rolled smoke and lighting it. He groaned out in pain as he inhaled and leaned back with a grimace.

"A joint," the older Murdoc answered Harry's questioning gaze. "I'd stolen it from my brother Hannibal's room earlier that day. It helped take my mind off of the pain." Harry nodded, a sad look crossing his face before looking back at the younger Murdoc. To his surprise, the boy was no longer alone. A sliver Tabby was pawing at him and nuzzling against his side. Harry's eyes widened with recognition.

"But that's-"

"Yes, you're not the only one she tries that shit on, kid." Murdoc said, his eyes narrowing as he cat seemed to help cheer his younger self up a little. "She came aroun' fer about a week before she made her true self known."

As he said this, the memory world around them seemed to jerk and Harry watched in fascination as everything seemed to fast-forward around him like someone had hit a button on a recording or something. When it suddenly stopped and stilled again it looked like it was nearing sunset on yet another cloudy day.

Harry spotted the same silver Tabby as it bounded down the street toward them and paused beside a big bush. The cat darted in, but a few moments later Professor McGonagall stepped out in a mahogany robe not unlike the emerald one she had worn on her visit to _Kong_. Her lips were pinched together with a stern look of apprehension on her features. Harry didn't think that she appeared all that thrilled to be there. He watched as she briskly walked up the porch stairs and knocked on their door twice.

A tall burly looking boy of about fifteen with a mean aura that strongly reminded Harry of Dudley answered the door and gave her a look of strong disdain. "Halloween ain't fo' anotha' few months, lady," he informed her rudely before attempting to slam the door in her face. "We dun' want none."

"I beg your pardon young man, but I won't be leaving until I've had a word with your father," Professor McGonagall said, sticking her foot in the door to prevent him from closing it. She gave him a challenging look as if daring him to say otherwise.

"Yeah, whatever lady _. Daaaad_ , some crazy bint's at tha' door!" he bellowed before walking off leaving her to her own devices as she stepped into their shabby living area. She looked around in clear disgust taking in the stained walls and the lumpy couch. There was even a broken lamp in the corner that appeared to have a dusty cobweb tangled in the glass shards as if it had been there a while. There was some torn paper next to an old iron stove that was against the far wall. They watched as she looked around for a moment before plucking it up and sighing when she saw the familiar green scrawl.

"So, he did get it," she grumbled, stuffing the torn piece of paper into her pocket as she heard a shout followed by the loud booms of drunken steps coming toward her from a different part of the house.

Even though Harry knew nothing could happen to him in a memory, he couldn't help the small tremor of fear that was crawling up his spine. The sounds reminded him all too much of his uncle stomping down to his cupboard right before it was time for a beating. He subconsciously took a step closer to Murdoc and watched nervously as a very drunk looking man burst into the room baring his rotting teeth at the waiting professor before taking a swig of what looked to be vodka.

"F-fuck, do _you_ wan'?" he slurred before letting out a loud and incredibly rude belch that made the old woman wince. Sebastian Niccals was a very weird looking person, Harry decided With his shabby looking top hat, frayed coattails, and greasy long hair, he sort of reminded Harry of an even stranger looking version of the Goth comedian Noel Fielding that Dudley was always raving about. Except there was nothing funny about this man. In fact, Harry felt that Murdoc's father looked a bit mad and unhinged. There was a wildness in his eyes that made him appear slightly dangerous.

"I am here to talk about your son, Mr. Niccals," Professor McGonagall said. Her right hand was hovering over one of her robe pockets in such a way, that Harry realized she must have kept her wand there. "I am from the boarding school you received a missive about. The one you seem to have used as kindling for your stove." She spoke in a rather blunt tone as she kept her eyes on his staggering form.

"Pah, Hogwash or woteva' it was?" he sneered, holding onto the doorway for support. Then he seemed to gain confidence in his ability to walk as he took a few steps toward her and laughed. "My kid ain't goin' ter some crackpot school, lady. 'Specially not fo' magicians. In case yeh haven't noticed, I've go' that part covered," he chucked, giving her a clumsy mock-bow.

"Oh I've seen _exactly_ what kinds of things you teach your children," she replied, unable to keep the disgust out of her voice. "I assure you that the things you are teaching them have absolutely _nothing_ to do with magic."

"Is tha' so?" Sebastian sniffed, spitting at the floor. "Look lady, magic ain't real. It's all a bunch of hokus pokas to ge' some ooo's and ahhh's before yeh peddle 'em out of money. Been doin' it fo' years, an we don' need your help!"

"Your child is gifted! He has a power that he needs to learn to control," Professor McGonagall insisted, trying not to let his drunken proximity intimidate her. "Myself and my colleagues can help with that."

"It's nothin' but a pipe-dream," Sebastian sneered gruffly. One of the floor boards squeaked behind them and he turned around so fast that Professor McGonagall jumped. "Ah, here 'e is right now. The _gifted_ one, she called you." He laughed cruelly and grabbed his youngest son by the scruff of his neck as he pulled him from his hiding spot behind the doorway. "Do you think yer special, kid?" he growled, touching his nose to his young son's.

Young Murdoc tried very hard not to wince as his father's putrid breath assaulted his nose. "N-no, sir. Not at all," he muttered, refusing to make eye contact as he looked down toward the floor instead, his face flushing in quiet embarrassment from being demeaned in front of this stranger.

"Put him down this instant!" Professor McGonagall demanded, pulling her wand fully from her pocket this time and jabbing it in the air at him. "Law be damned, I am not above jinxing a foul Muggle like you."

"A wot?" Sebastian laughed, looking at her like she was daft. "It's a stick. Who gives a shit? 'Sides, look around you lady. Does it look li' we can afford your fancy little school here?"

"We have instalment plans," she said through gritted teeth, still pointing her wand at him.

"Fat chance, yeh stupid cunt. Twenty grand a semester… Fuck, I could think of much betta' shit to spend my money on. It ain't happening, sweetheart."

"Are you really so selfish that you wouldn't allow at least _one_ of your children to be successful?"

"Oh, he'll be successful," Sabastian grinned evilly as he glanced back down at Murdoc who seemed to be trying to make himself as small and insignificant looking as possible. "But _I_ will be tha' one reaping in the benefits. Murdoc 'ere can actually sing and play a guitar. He's _useful_ unlike that otha' lump. Why would I eva' give my only cash-cow ter the likes of you? He'll hit it big one day an' we'll get out of this dump. You can't have him. I won't pay."

Professor McGonagall slowly lowered her wand and looked at Sebastian for such a long time that Harry wondered if she was trying to read the man's soul. Finally, she let out a shaky breath and looked down at the now fidgeting child. "Young man, what do you think?"

Murdoc looked startled that the old woman had even asked. But seeing the glare his father was giving him, he knew better than to show any interest. He stayed quiet and looked away again.

Professor McGonagall looked gave the child a look of disappointment and pity. "If that is your choice… then fine. If you change your mind, then perhaps we can work something out"

Harry thought he saw a look of guilt in her eyes, but he wasn't sure that he believed it. In fact, he kind of felt like she'd given up too easily. He'd seen the interest in young Murdoc's eyes and surely she'd seen that he was only trying to appease his drunken father. But instead she'd taken the easy way out. She hadn't even mentioned a scholarship or anything to try and entice him. It kind of made Harry feel sick to his stomach.

The sick feeling in his stomach only got worse when McGonagall disappeared through the front door and Sebastian rounded on his son. "Le' me make one thing _very_ clear to you. You're _mine_ and you will neva' be anything without me. Do you hear?" Murdoc went to nod his head yes when he suddenly yelped in pain and was sent flying backwards from how hard he'd just been backhanded. He wisely chose to stay on the floor and rubbed his cheek with a pained grimace.

"Tha' fuck you lookin' at? You want some too?" Sebastian growled when he spotted Hannibal watching cautiously from the doorway. When the older boy quickly vacated the area, he laughed before looking down at his youngest one more time. "Starting tomorrow I expect double profits outta' you, or you'll regret it. An' if I eva' hear one peep outta you 'bout that school I'll make sure you can't sit for a ruddy _month_."

On that note, the world shimmered around them again until Harry found himself sitting on his bed again staring at the silent much older Murdoc that he was familiar with.

"That was awful," Harry said quietly. "You're right, your father was a nightmare."

"You 'ave no idea," Murdoc replied in a low voice. "He was a right bloody bastard. I remember thinkin' he'd pop outta' nowhere and kill me someday when I finally got the balls to run away. He's dead now," he told Harry, not looking the least bit sad about it.

Harry nodded, then voiced what was bothering him. "I think Professor McGonagall knew that you wouldn't be attending when she came that night. Besides when your dad got handsy with you, she didn't even really try…"

"I don't think many would 'ave," Murdoc said honestly. "She'd been watching us a while and knew what kinds of bad business we were getting' in to. I think it was secretly a relief fer her that I wouldn't be going. They wouldn't 'ave been able to straighten me out. I was too wild. Any guilt she would 'ave had 'bout me probably died after the tabloids started reporting about my scandalous ways. Not to mention, most people wouldn't be caught dead near a Satanist."

"I guess, but it still doesn't change the fact that she practically abandoned you."

"True. But if she hadn't, I might not 'ave ever found my religion. The world had turned its back on me when I suddenly came across a book tha' changed everythin' for me," he told Harry, who was listening curiously. Harry had never heard anyone say anything positive about Satanism before. "After living my fucked up childhood and bein' spit at one to many times, I guess it just called to me. Most people don't understan' Satanism and they don't try to 'cause they think all of the philosophies are inherently evil. And yet, it offered me a sense of belonging I'd never had. I fucked up a couple of times and made shitty deals here an' there, but I suddenly had confidence and a backbone."

"I never really thought of it that way," Harry admitted, realizing then that Murdoc really was an actual Satanist and it wasn't just a ploy to build his image.

Murdoc nodded and continued to explain, "It opened my eyes. Did you know tha' in the Satanic Bible there's a commandment about takin' care of those you care for, but above all else one's self? When I wos younger I never cared because I didn't think I was worth it but now I know better," he paused and took a deep breath. "I'll admit, when I took you in it was fer selfish reasons. I knew who yeh were as soon as I saw the scar on yer head. But Harry, you've become someone I now consider part of my family whether we 'ad a choice or not," he flexed the hand that had the blood bond scar as he said this. "There will be plenty o' people like the Dark Lord and Dumbledore who will see you as nothin' more than a pawn and they'll play on your weaknesses. Don't let yerr past become a weakness. Use it to build a foundation of strength so you can tell all those wankers to piss the fuck off."

"I'll try," he replied with a frown. He wasn't honestly sure how he could go that, but he was really trying to move on from it. The abuse always lingered in the back of his mind like an oppressive shadow waiting to envelope him in his pent up emotions. But now he at least had someone in his corner who seemed to understand.

"You'll figure it out," Murdoc assured him, patting him on the shoulder before standing and scooping up his pensive and heading for the door. "Get some rest, kid. It's been a long day."

After Murdoc had left and the door clicked shut, Harry flopped back on his bead with a sigh and stared up at the ceiling as if looking for answers. He still felt somewhat lost and not sure what to do about it. But very slowly he was starting to understand that he now had people who cared about him and wouldn't judge him anymore. He thought about what all had happened today and frowned. "I will not become a chess piece," he said to the empty room before closing his eyes and allowing sleep to take him.

* * *

 **A/N:** I feel like this chapter took forever to write. People kept interrupting me and I had a hard time getting away to speed-write it. The last part of this chapter from Sebastian until the end isn't my best writing, sorry. But I want to hurry up and get passed this chapter so we can more on to happier things. What did you think of Murdoc's past though?

Also, for those of you that think that Harry is being extremely reactive to certain situations and not as confident as he was in the books, it is because I want to show that Harry is still just a child and any child put in those situations is going to have some form of lasting affect on their psyche. He will become more confident and relax more later on, but everything is still fresh for him.

The next chapter will be really fun and happy to bring us out of this mood. We'll go to Diagon Alley next!

* * *

 **What the heck is Noodle saying!?**

"Watashi no kami ni furenaide kudasai. Anata wa tsukemonodesu." – "Don't touch my hair, pickle man." (For those of you who maybe are more _Harry Potter_ fans than _Gorillaz_ , this is an inside joke within the fan base. Everyone refers to Murdoc as a pickle because he's green and has a sour disposition. My favorites are when he's depicted as "Murdoc Piccals" getting into fights with Pickle Rick from _Rick and Morty –_ that shit's hilarious!).


	8. Chapter 8

**Harry Potter and the Flip of a Niccal**

 _By: KKM_

 _Disclaimer:_ I do not own the _Harry Potter_ series or any associated characters. _Harry Potter_ is © J. K. Rowling. I also do not own the _Gorillaz_ or any associated characters/songs. _Gorillaz_ are © Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.

* * *

 **Comments:**

 _*The sound of a lonely cricket and a tumbleweed blowing in the wind.* D:_

* * *

 **Last Time:**

 _"Don't let your past become a weakness. Use it to build a foundation of strength so you can tell all those wankers to piss off."_

 _"I'll try," Harry replied with a frown. He wasn't honestly sure how he could go that, but he was really trying to move on from it. The abuse always lingered in the back of his mind like an oppressive shadow waiting to envelope him in his pent up emotions. But now he at least had someone in his corner who seemed to understand._

 _"You'll figure it out," Murdoc assured him, patting him on the shoulder before standing and scooping up his pensive and heading for the door. "Get some rest, kid. It's been a long day."_

 _After Murdoc had left and the door clicked shut, Harry flopped back on his bead with a sigh and stared up at the ceiling as if looking for answers. He still felt somewhat lost and not sure what to do about it. But very slowly he was starting to understand that he now had people who cared about him and wouldn't judge him anymore. He thought about what all had happened today and frowned. "I will not become a chess piece," he said to the empty room before closing his eyes and allowing sleep to take him._

* * *

 **Chapter 8: How to Catch a Werewolf**

Murdoc let out a low chuckle of amusement as he watched Harry look around with his eyes wide in wonder. Because Harry had decided to stay with the _Gorillaz_ to be homeschooled instead of attending Hogwarts, the green man had decided that a trip to _Diagon Alley_ was needed to gain the proper supplies. Even though he hadn't had the luxury as a kid, there was no reason that his new son had to do without. With this in mind, Murdoc had let the others wonder off to amuse themselves as he'd steered Harry toward the golden atrium of _Gringotts Wizarding Bank_. He himself didn't have enough galleons to necessitate an account in the prestigious vaults, but he figured that the Potters had and that they could use some of it to fund anything Murdoc could not personally afford for Harry's education. Plus, he was sure that Harry wouldn't mind having a little extra spending money for himself if he found something he enjoyed in one of the many shops that lined the cobblestone street.

Harry was completely enthralled with the place as he gazed in every direction. This place was enormous! There were Wizards and Witches bustling in every direction garbed in robes of all colors. There were even non-humans walking about. Harry had been completely shocked to learn that this establishment was owned and completely ran by Goblins of all people! If he thought Goblins were short, they had nothing on the small elves he'd seen weaving through the crowds on errands of some sort. _Gringotts_ appeared to cater to all sizes of beings as Harry could have sworn they'd passed a huge harry giant with a big fluffy beard and a humorously tiny package clutched in his grasp. But Harry's favorite part about the entire decor of the building was the painted vaulted ceilings which depicted a rather graphic and gory battle between Goblins and what Harry assumed to be Wizards.

Eventually Murdoc and Harry made it to the front where a Goblin teller greeted them with golden rimmed glasses and an almost mocking pointy-toothed grin. "State your name and your business please," he directed, getting straight to the point. It appeared that Goblins were rather blunt when it came to business and would usually skip the pleasantries.

"Ah, yes. Me name's Murdoc Niccals and I need teh switch ou' a few Muggle Pounds fer some Galleons. Also, this here's me son 'Arry Potter-Niccals. He'll be needin' teh see his vault," the bassist explained as he pulled out a wad of wrinkled bills and tossed them onto the counter. The Goblin snatched them with a sneer and hastily tried to smooth the abused bills flat before snapping his stubby little fingers together causing them to hover into the air a moment before disappearing completely. Then he pulled out a small cash drawer from somewhere beneath the partition and tapped it with one of his long yellowed nails. Harry watched in astonishment as coins started to appear in gold, silver, and bronze. When it stopped the Goblin rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath before he tapped the drawer harder and it coughed up a few more coins. He then nodded in satisfaction and re-focused his attention on Murdoc.

"That'll be 165 Galleons, 15 Sickles, and 20 Knuts for 500 Pounds," the Goblin said in a haughty voice as Murdoc scooped up all of the coins and shoved them into his pockets. Harry gave them both a confused look considering it sounded like Pounds weren't worth much here. He made a mental note to ask Murdoc about Wizarding Currency later. Then he nearly jumped out of his skin when the Goblin turned its sharp gaze on him with eyes narrowed. "And does Mister Potter-Niccals have his key?" he asked in an almost dangerous voice that would have left Harry shaking in his trainers had Murdoc not placed a calming hand on his shoulder.

"Actually, we don' actually _know_ who has me son's key," Murdoc admitted, not at all affected by the Goblin's suspicious glare. "However, we're both willin' teh provide a drop of blood to prove our lineage," he added, knowing that the Goblin would not take kindly to any lesser form of identification.

"Is that so, Mister Niccals?" the Goblin replied, looking curious before shrugging and shouting behind him. " _Griphook!_ Take these two in the back for identification verification," he ordered as an annoyed looking Goblin appeared next to them and motioned for them to follow.

Griphook led them through a maze of hallways within the bank before he settled on a particular room and waived them in. Once they were all seated with a large mahogany desk separating them, Griphook took out a tattered looking scroll and a small dagger. "Your identities are being called into question," he explained. "You will need to prick your fingers and allow a drop of blood to drip onto the parchment unaided and it will show us your true lineage. Any spells or potions used to tamper with one's identity become useless. Do you understand?" Both of them nodded, though Harry admittedly looked a bit pale. He wasn't sure if the adoption bond would be valid here or not. But when he looked beside him and saw nothing but confidence radiating from Murdoc, he sat up a bit straighter.

Murdoc reached for the knife first and Harry offered him his hand as the older man lightly pricked his index finger and did the same with his own. When that was completed they both lifted their hands above the parchment and allowed a drop of blood each to fall. As soon as the liquid fell, they watched in fascination as it dissolved into the parchment. Then the parchment appeared to ripple with magic as a family tree began to become visible showing Harry's name with Lilly Evans and James Potter's family surrounding him. Then a third bar appeared linked to Harry's name showing Murdoc Niccals as his third blood parent.

"Hm, it appears you _are_ truly Harry Potter. Though now I suppose it's Potter-Niccals?" Griphook questioned rhetorically before nodding and filling out a form from a stack that Harry hadn't noticed him taking out before. "A blood bond adoption ritual, I see. I will update your vaults to show your name and relationship change."

"V-vaults, sir?" Harry asked, clearly not expecting the Goblin to be so flippant about what Murdoc had explained was initially an illegal practice. Apparently the Satanist had been right when he'd said the ritual itself was illegal but not the outcome.

"Oh yes, you are the main heir to the Potter vaults as well as the vaults to the house of Black. I suppose you'll also need to be added to the Niccals account too? You _are_ setting up an account with us today, yes?" he looked at Murdoc with a scrutinizing gaze as if daring him to suggest any other outcome. When the older man nodded begrudgingly in affirmation the Goblin nodded again and muttered something to himself in Gobbledygook as he pulled out yet another form. Murdoc knew that his tiny supply would be pennies compared to the other two in Harry inheritance, but it didn't really bother him. He hadn't realized that Harry would have two vaults to himself, but in the long run he supposed that would be a good thing to help Harry have a better future. After a moment, Griphook sat up and looked toward Harry again. "The Potter vault is currently accessible to you, however the Black vault has a hold on it until you reach the age of 17 per request of the previous heir Sirius Black."

"Sirius Black?" Harry questioned, looking up at Murdoc who shrugged. Besides the major unavoidable news in the wizarding world, he hadn't really paid all that much attention. His real home was in the Muggle world so he was as unfamiliar with the name as Harry.

"We have him listed as your legal Godfather, however his rights have been revoked due to a life sentence in Azkaban for murder," Griphook elaborated, reading over the file with an air of disinterest. Both Harry and Murdoc looked a little uneasy about that little tidbit of news.

"Got it, thanks," Harry said awkwardly.

"What about his key?" Murdoc asked, changing the subject as he cleared his throat. "We didn' know 'e had one ter be honest."

" _Everyone_ has a key, Mister Niccals," Griphook intoned, looking annoyed again as he shuffled through his documents. "It says right here that Albus Dumbledore has the key as he was young Mister Potter-Niccals' legal magical guardian. Though now that you are his legal guardian, a notice will be sent out to reclaim your key and any possessions taken. We'll also forward a copy of the updated family tree to the _Ministry of Magic_ for record keeping."

"We would also like a list of any comings and goings in me son's account over tha' past ten years to be mailed ter us directly," Murdoc requested, his eyes narrowed into slits as soon as the name Albus Dumbledore had been uttered.

"Certainly," Griphook agreed as he hopped up from his chair. "Now that that's settled, let's go visit your vaults."

Meanwhile, on the other side of _Diagon Alley_ , 2D found himself comfortably seated in a shabby looking tavern called _The Leaky Cauldron._ Normally, he'd have been slightly depressed about being left behind while the others explored but honesty he thought all the bright colors and people would have given him a headache. Instead, the dim lighting of the bar complimented his poor eyesight and he was enjoying sitting among the hags and other strange folk that accompanied him at the bar. Here, no one really paid much attention to his odd hair color and deep-set sunken in eyes. They didn't even recognize him as a celebrity. He was just a normal bloke sipping a strangely sweet beverage he'd found called butterbeer as he listened to the barkeep, Tom, tell jokes about the strange patrons he'd seen in the past.

Everyone was so enthralled with Tom's story, that no one paid any attention as a tired looking man in shabby robes carrying a moth-eaten briefcase walked in through the Muggle-side entrance. He was a thin man that looked to be a little bit on the unhealthy side considering he appeared to have not been well-rested in some time. He probably would have looked fairly decent except his face was littered with several old looking cuts and scars that he tried to offset with a small mustache. He had limp straw-colored hair and pale blue eyes that reflected a man who had been through more in his 31 years than most had in a lifetime. And yet through all of that weariness, he still somehow maintained a positive outlook about him. Instead of looking around the room in loathing despair, he seemed relieved to have made it there at all.

Remus Lupin had been a werewolf most of his life having been bit by Fenrir Greyback at the tender age of 6. Though he was no fan of the condition himself, he had tried to make the most of it and for the most part ignored his 'furry little problem' until it reared its ugly head once a month like clockwork. Wizards were not overly fond of werewolves so he tended to keep a low profile and did several oddball jobs in both the Wizarding and Muggle world to gain income any way that he could. He, unlike some of his wolven brethren, preferred to be thought of as a wizard instead of the beast and tried very hard to live up to his own internal standards in world that was very clearly against him.

As his eyes scanned the tavern looking for a place to sit, he gasped when he saw a familiar shock of blue spikey hair sitting up at the bar surrounded by patrons. "2D?" he muttered under his breath in confusion. The summer before, he had answered an ad in a Muggle paper to work at a place called _Kong Studios_ to help build the recording studio and lug in the band's equipment. He and about five other men had taken the job and helped build the place to what it was today. The pay had been rather descent and he'd enjoyed getting to know the members of the band, though the leader had been slightly out there in his opinion. But from what he could tell, he'd thought they'd all been _Muggles_. Weird Muggles, but Muggles all the same.

"Stuart, is that you?" he asked as he approached the bar and stole a seat next to the eyeless wonder. 2D blinked in confusion for a moment before turning to him with a blank look on his face. Remus remembered that 2D had poor eyesight, but that did not stop the slight reddening of his cheeks when the younger man suddenly leaned so close to his face that he could actually make out the fractured pupils in his seemingly endless gaze. They were both still a moment before 2D suddenly flashed a toothless grin and grabbed the frail man into a surprisingly strong hug that smelled of butterscotch and cigarettes.

"Remus!" 2D exclaimed happy before releasing the now obviously blushing man and talking animatedly. "How did you ge' here? Mudz said only Wizards could. Are you a Wizard? Wot 'ave you been up to, mate?"

Remus coughed to cover a chuckle at the singer's excitement before trying to tackle all of his questions at once. "Well, Ive been staying at a room here between jobs," he explained. "Yes, I am a wizard, though I didn't think you lot were," he admitted looking slightly bemused.

"That's cuz fer tha' most part we _aren't_ ," a deep voice chuckled from behind them as Murdoc clasped both men on the shoulder. "Firewiskey fer me, Tom," Murdoc ordered as he allowed his mismatched eyes to wonder towards a sweet looking waitress that was helping some patrons a few tables over. He licked his lips a moment before refocusing on the two men in front of him instead. 'Business first, pleasure later,' he mentally reminded himself.

"2D! Look at all this money I was able to get!" Harry said excitedly as he bounded up to them. "Dad gave me some too for school books and stuff."

Remus was struck with a strange sense of deja-vu as he and Murdoc listened to the child chatter away to the singer who was answering back just as rapidly. A sad smile curved his lips as he thought of how odd it was that the boy reminded him of a long departed friend. Harry would be about this age too wouldn't he? He silently wondered what Harry was like and if he'd be able to recognize him if he saw him. He tried to ignore the aching feeling in his chest as the boy tugged 2D from his barstool and toward the door apparently to go school shopping with him. He allowed a nostalgic sigh to escape his lips as he watched them disappear and nodded at Murdoc as the green-skinned man took 2D's place beside him on the stool.

"I didn't know you had a son," Remus said awkwardly as he realized Murdoc was giving him a rather calculating look. Knowing the man from before as he did, he knew that kind of look didn't bode well for him.

"I didn't until a few weeks ago," Murdoc admitted, taking a sip of his whiskey and grinning as he felt the burn in his throat and the steam in his ears. "The kid'd been left with abusive relatives. Damn shame too. Kept 'im in a fuckin' cupboard all of 'is life," he spat, looking somewhat moody thinking about it.

"They did _what?_ " Remus asked looking horrified at the thought as he turned his attention back toward the door with a frown. "No child deserves that…" Even he as a werewolf had never been treated like that by his family. His parents had known his life would be hard and yet they still tried to offer him a loving home.

"Especially no' that one," Murdoc agreed, hiding his Cheshire grin as he watched Lupin's concern. "Do you know who tha' boy really is?"

"Well no, I just figured he was yours since he called you dad," Remus replied in confusion wondering what on earth Murdoc was getting at. How would he know a child he'd literally just met?

Murdoc leaned a little closer so that no one would hear him as he confided his son's true identity. "Tha' boy is _Harry Potter_ ," he whispered. "I found 'im abandoned and all alone afta' escapin' his Aunt and Uncle's house. Tha' cupboard was the least of 'is problems with them."

Murdoc prided himself as a rather observant man. While the other members of his band did not know what to look for in a person, he always had. Back when Remus had worked for them before, he'd known about the man's lycanthropy. As someone who knew about magic and as a Satanist he'd been able to practically taste the dark magic that surrounded the man's soul. But he'd also been able to spot the man for who he was; a misunderstood loner. Murdoc knew that werewolves had hard lives that were hardly what one would consider stable and he knew that Remus was softer when it came to subjects like that than others so he was banking on the other man taking pity over the boy's past living situation.

So as he looked at Remus' devastated face he had no idea that it was for reasons completely different than what he'd predicted. He had no idea that Remus had been friends with the boy's parents or how guilty the werewolf had felt all of his life for not being there for his best friend's child. Murdoc's words magnified that guilt tenfold in fact.

"Dumbledore, Hogwarts' headmaster, tried to put 'im back in their care. But I din' let'im," Murdoc continued casually on with his plan. "The kid's grown on me an' he deserves betta'. He decided 'e doesn't wan' ter go teh Hogwarts but he'll still need an education."

"I'll do it," Remus said so suddenly that Murdoc's eyes widened slightly before returning to their calm observant gaze. "I'm not good at everything, mind you. But I can tutor him in Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense against the Dark Arts at least. I can even help with dueling if necessary."

Murdoc stayed silent a moment as he mulled this information over. He'd merely been trying to guilt-trip the man into coughing up some useful names, but if he himself could assist in tutoring Harry that would almost be perfect. Remus already knew what _Kong_ was like and knew the other band members so he'd get along with everyone and Harry hadn't seemed to mind him moments ago. It wouldn't be hard for Russ to give him the address as secret keeper and for Murdoc to key him into the wards. But he was still bothered by something.

"Tha' could work," he said after a time. "But why do yeh want ter help 'im so bad?" he asked suspiciously.

"James Potter was my best friend," Remus explained shakily. "Well, one of them anyway. He and Lilly were so supportive of me in my younger days. I'd have done anything for them. But then they died and my world came tumbling down. Si- _None_ of my friends were left unscathed from that night. After that the _Ministry_ put in new regulations towards anything they considered dark including w-werewolves," he whispered his affliction so that no one would hear. "I wouldn't have been allowed within one hundred feet of him without a death warrant to my name. I heard that he had gone to live with family and I stayed away. I've always thought about him though," Remus said in an anguished tone. After that they were silent again. Remus watched Murdoc polish off his glass and slap down a few Galleons on the counter.

"I believe you, mate. Bu' from now on there's no runnin' away. If yer gonna' be his tutor then you 'ave teh _stay_ in his life and tutor 'im. He's 'ad enough shi' in his life and doesn't need someone who's going to be 'ere one minute an' gone tha' next." He said seriously.

"I understand," Remus agreed. "Please let me do this…"

" _Fine_ ," Murdoc said with a snort. "Get yer shit in order an' I'll send my familiar, Cortez, to you with the address inna' few days. It's protected by a Fidelius Charm so even though you've been there, you won't be able ter get in."

"Thank you," Remus said in such a breathless tone that Murdoc nearly sneered back at him for such a pathetic display of gratitude. But instead he gave the other man a smirk before disappearing from the tavern back into the crowded alley.

Just as he stepped out there was a loud bang of commotion as the apothecary down the way's door shot open and four bodies tumbled out dying of laughter as the shop owner cursed at them waiving his wand. He sighed in exasperation as he saw the mirthful expressions on Harry and 2D's faces along with the mischievous twin smiles of the pair of redheads that were on the ground in a heap beside them.

"And stay out!" the apothecary owner growled as a trail of purple smoke started pouring out of the doorway behind him. He gave an indignant sort of huff before returning inside and slamming the door shut. Seconds later a closed sign was slapped against the glass with gusto.

"That was wicked!" One of the redheads grinned as he and his brother slapped Harry and 2D's hands with high-fives. Though 2D looked a little less enthusiastic than Harry did about it.

"Nice one, Harry," the other brother complimented as he started to stand up. "It's too bad you won't be going to Hogwarts this year. We could use a little help from someone like you."

" _FRED AND GEORGE WEASLEY!"_ a very upset looking plump witch screeched as she marched over and grabbed them each by the ear. "What is the meaning of this!? Just _wait_ until we get home and I tell your father!" she scolded, dragging them back to where three other redheaded children were standing and watching with amusement.

"Bye Harry!" they chorused with slightly pained winces as they tried to hide their smiles from their now fuming mother. Harry laughed and shook his head as 2D helped him up and they dusted their trousers off.

"And jus' wot was that all about?" Murdoc asked with a smirk when he reached them. "Can't leave you lot alone fer two seconds without yeh burning down a building."

"We didn't do it on _purpose_ ," 2D muttered, rubbing his sore hip from where he fell.

"Those were the Weasley twins," Harry explained, his slightly pointed teeth visible due to his wide smile. "Apparently they like to invent things and wanted to see what would happen if they dropped a few of their mystery ingredients into the apothecary owners tea. It was _supposed_ to make him only be able to talk like a roaring dragon for an hour, but when the shop owner drank it he burped up a huge purple fireball instead that melted his best supply of cauldrons. It was so cool!"

"It wos downright _terrifying_ ," 2D disagreed with a shudder. "That coulda' been _us_."

"An' that's why yer supposed teh protect 'im from these things, Dullard," Murdoc said as he rolled his eyes and smacked the singer on the back of his head causing him to yelp. "Anyways, we need teh go ge' a wand. You won't be using it much cuz I'll be teachin' you how teh do things wandless like me mostly. But it's always good teh have a backup in case yeh get tired and need something to focus yer magic through."

With that said, Harry soon found himself inside of a rather small shop that seemed to be crammed floor to ceiling in wand boxes. There was nothing organized or tidy about the place and Harry found himself wondering just how the stacks had even remained upright with how far over some of them were leaning.

"Ah! Yes, I've been expecting you, Mister Potter," a voice wheezed from somewhere within the hoard. Suddenly an old man with wild looking long silver hair popped out from behind one of the piles causing all three of his guests to jump. He politely ignored their reaction as he straightened his glasses and took a step closer giving them each a gaze that gave them the feeling he was reading over the contents of their soul.

He looked at Murdoc first, tilting his head a bit as he considered him. "I didn't sell _you_ a wand, but for the longest time you used to carry one of mine that went missing. 13 inches, walnut, dragon heartstring, and bit springy… Hm, most likely not the best match but then you wouldn't have known," he shrugged, not really looking that put out about it. Murdoc looked slightly uncomfortable about the accusation, but said nothing to either defend or deny it.

He paused at 2D next looking rather intrigued about the odd looking man, though understandably it was not for the usual reasons. "Hm, a Muggle. Not someone I come across every day. But you managed to get through the wards and don't seem to be affected by the normal muggle-repelling wards. _Fascinating._ " 2D gulped, trying hard not to tremble as he took a step closer to Murdoc looking nervous. This only caused the strange old wand maker's thin smile to widen.

Lastly, he paused in front of Harry and tsked shaking his head to himself. "Such a pity," he murmured as he reached out to brush Harry's bangs away so that he could get a better look at the scar beneath. He ignored Murdoc's growl of warning as he continued to gaze at it. "I'm sorry to say that I made the wand that gave you this. I remember every wand I've ever made and I know all of their qualities. Your mother's was made of willow. It was best made for charms as it was long and swishy. Your father's was a bit more pliable. He favored mahogany which always compliments transfiguration. But _that_ wand…Hm," he sighed and turned away from Harry so quickly that the boy stumbled and nearly fell over. "Now, let's get started. Shall we?"

If Harry thought the spry wand maker was intense before, it was nothing compared to when the man was actually in his element. It turned out that Mr. Ollivander took his work extremely seriously. Harry felt like he was being ran through hoops with how many wands were placed just in his grasp to suddenly be yanked away again with a resounding, "Nope, not yet. Try this one!" The very few wands that he did hold for longer than one second seemed to always result in something smashing, breaking, or in one unfortunate case crashing into poor 2D.

Finally, after Harry felt that he had tried nearly every wand in the store, Mr. Ollivander pulled out a very dusty wand box from a safe in the back of the store and leveled Harry with a resigned look. Harry gazed at the box wearily and vaguely wondered why this one looked to be in the poorest shape of them all. The box was slightly yellowed on the outside and looked distinctly neglected. "I had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but I see now that I cannot change fate. The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Potter, and I'd be shocked if this one hasn't had its core set on you."

"If you think so, sir," Harry responded nervously as he watched the older man uncover the lid to reveal a rather plain but nicely polished wand for the poor condition of its packaging. Harry hesitated a few seconds before carefully grasping the handle. At first nothing happened and then he gasped as a warm pulse of magic swept over him and the tip of the wand started glowing a pleasant golden light. He gave it a gentle flick and the contents of the messes he'd created before with the other wands righted themselves and mended. This wand felt distinctly _right_ as if it were an extension of his very arm and perhaps more.

"11 inches and holly with a phoenix feather core," Mr. Ollivander dictated in a misty voice as if he were caught in a trance. Suddenly his eyes locked with Harry's once again causing the boy to feel distinctly uncomfortable with the intensity. "Very curious that _this_ exact wand would choose you when it's brother gave you that scar…" he trailed off and moved forward as if to touch the scar again when Murdoc suddenly grabbed Harry's arm and stepped in front of him to block the old man's view.

"That's enough," Murdoc sneered, thrusting a small pouch of money at the wand maker. "Let's ge' out of here," he said before pushing both Harry and 2D out of the door.

"Pleasant seeing you. We shall meet again." Mr. Ollivander's voice called before the door closed swiftly behind them. Harry shuddered thinking that if that was true, it would only be too soon.

"Harry!" a gleeful shout caught the boy's attention and his frown melted into a blinding smile when he saw Noodle and Russel standing a little ways down the alley. Noodle seemed to be unable to contain her excitement as she bounced slightly when the trio approached them.

That was when Russel held up the bird cage he'd been trying to hide from behind his back. Inside it contained the most beautiful snow white owl Harry had ever seen. "Happy late birthday, little man!"

* * *

 **A/N:**

Sorry that took forever. School and work has really been putting on the pressure this holiday. I feel like Murdoc was a little OOC for this chapter, but hopefully not too bad. I was also trying to have some parallels in there to the actual story which is why there was a brief appearance of Hagrid and the Weasleys. Anyways, let me know what you think!


	9. Chapter 9

**Harry Potter and the Flip of a Niccal**

 _By: KKM_

 _Disclaimer:_ I do not own the _Harry Potter_ series or any associated characters. _Harry Potter_ is © J. K. Rowling. I also do not own the _Gorillaz_ or any associated characters/songs. _Gorillaz_ are © Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.

* * *

 **Comments:**

 **Hardaliegh** – I always thought it was kind of sad that we didn't get to meet Remus until third year, so I wanted to not only work him in as a strong reoccurring character but also shed some more light on why he was absent from Harry's life for so long. He'll stick around, I promise.

 **holyscythe** – Oh excellent! It's always cool to find people who are new to fandoms. How did you like The Now Now? Personally, I like it better than Humanz! Humanz was gold, don't get me wrong, but I missed 2D's you for reading and though updates are pretty irregular I hope you stuck around to enjoy. This story will be a very long ride crossing back and forth between both story lines.

 **Franaletorres –** Your wish is my command!

 **Beowolfalien –** Lol, yes it is a bit strange. But I had to find a way to mix my two favorite fandoms in such a way that everyone would see how awesome this idea is. 😊 Thank you for reading!

 **A special thank you to all of the favorites and watchers this story has. When I left it last year I only had 10 watchers if you can believe it! Thank you!**

* * *

 **Last Time:**

 _"11 inches and holly with a phoenix feather core," Mr. Ollivander dictated in a misty voice as if he were caught in a trance. Suddenly his eyes locked with Harry's once again causing the boy to feel distinctly uncomfortable with the intensity. "Very curious that this exact wand would choose you when it's brother gave you that scar…" he trailed off and moved forward as if to touch the scar again when Murdoc suddenly grabbed Harry's arm and stepped in front of him to block the old man's view._

 _"That's enough," Murdoc sneered, thrusting a small pouch of money at the wand maker. "Let's ge' out of here," he said before pushing both Harry and 2D out of the door._

 _"Pleasant seeing you. We shall meet again." Mr. Ollivander's voice called before the door closed swiftly behind them. Harry shuddered thinking that if that was true, it would only be too soon._

 _"Harry!" a gleeful shout caught the boy's attention and his frown melted into a blinding smile when he saw Noodle and Russel standing a little ways down the alley. Noodle seemed to be unable to contain her excitement as she bounced slightly when the trio approached them._

 _That was when Russel held up the bird cage he'd been trying to hide from behind his back. Inside it contained the most beautiful snow white owl Harry had ever seen. "Happy late birthday, little man!"_

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Magical Theory and First Lessons**

Harry was literally brimming with excitement. He couldn't help it! Today he would be receiving his first lessons. After their trip to Diagon Alley last week, it had been decided that Harry would start his lessons the following Monday. This had made the most sense because the tutor that his father had found had needed some time to create his lesson plans. Harry was also aware that the rest of the students in the Wizarding World would be starting school too on the same day. Between now and then, Harry had spent most of his time hanging out with the band between excitedly reading his new school books. He'd never been so excited for school before, but this was different – it was magic!

His books were all filled with so many new and strange words. The descriptions of spells and the histories behind them had been so captivating that Harry felt more like he was reading a fantasy novel than forcing himself to study. He quickly found himself absorbing all that he could and was delighted when Noodle, Russel, and 2D all showed interest when he'd run into them and suddenly word-vomit his findings to them. He could tell that 2D had no idea what he was talking about most of the time, but the tall bluenette was always happy to talk with him or ask him to repeat what he had read. Occasionally, Noodle would plop down beside him and flick through the pages in mild fascination and they would silently read together. Russ had also become a big help because if Harry didn't understand a word or wanted to talk something out he didn't understand, the big man would offer advice to help him out.

Murdoc was around too, but less so because he had also been busy planning. He had informed Harry that while Remus would be teaching him the lighter magics like Charms, Defense, and Transfiguration, Murdoc himself would help out with some of the harder more intensive studies like Wandless Magic and Runes.

After a lengthy debate with Russel, it had been decided that Murdoc would also dive into Dark Arts with Harry once his core was strong enough. Murdoc had won this argument with the big man when he'd pointed out that Harry's enemies would not go easy on him and he would need to recognize potentially dark curses and spells. Russel had eventually caved to that explanation but reminded Murdoc that Harry was still a child and should not be performing such dark magic. Murdoc agreed with the promise that for the first few years of his teaching, Harry would first learn how to identify and understand the theory behind the magic. This would be different from Remus' Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons because Murdoc wanted Harry to have a deeper understanding and eventually be able to perform some of the spells in case he ever had to duel for his life.

The only thing that Harry did not have a tutor for was Potions and History of Magic. Murdoc felt that just buying books on the history of the Wizarding World along with some on the workings of the Ministry would be sufficient for that class. He personally found the subject boring but if Harry ended up caring about it more, then he would try to come up with something to appease the kid's thirst for knowledge. Potions was another matter altogether. Murdoc knew how to brew, but he also knew that he was often careless with his potions and didn't really trust Harry's safety with the matter. Murdoc had a vague idea of _who_ would be perfect for the job, he just hadn't gotten around to approaching the man yet. It wasn't a conversation he was completely looking forward to if he was honest.

Harry's eyes quickly circled around his bedroom as he took a quick inventory of his books which were surrounding him in different piles as he sat cross-legged on his bed. He'd already had breakfast and Murdoc had told him to run off until his tutor had arrived. Harry had practically skipped to his room, his heart racing and his cheeks glowing rosily as he tried to calm down. He'd never been so worked up in his life. Usually all the good things happened to his cousin Dudley and now it was finally his turn.

His happy musings were interrupted by a soft tapping next to his window. After the whole Professor McGonagall cat situation, young Harry had taken to regularly closing his windows unless he fancied a breeze. Even with the new wards in place, he hadn't wanted to chance the feline professor sneaking into his room again.

"Hedwig!" he greeted with a smile as he quickly slid from his bed knocking over a few books in the process. He threw his window open and greeted his familiar by gliding his fingers through her soft snow white feathers. She hooted in a friendly chirp and presented her leg to him were a scroll was tied securely to her outstretched leg.

Harry remembered the messenger owl from before, so he wasn't surprised by the action. But he was curious about who might be writing to him. Besides the tutor he'd meet later today, he wasn't sure about who else would want to write to him.

"Thanks girl," he praised, pulling an owl treat from a nearby jar and offering it to her before plopping down in the ratty bean bag chair that rested in the corner of his room. Hedwig gave a final hoot of appreciation before taking off through the window again and leaving him to his letter. "It's from the Weasley twins!" Harry laughed after opening his letter. He excitedly read down their missive.

 _Hello Harry!_

 _We hope this owl knows where you are. We were originally going to send Errol, our family owl, but the bloody thing didn't seem to understand what we meant. Then this owl seemed to come out of nowhere, so we figured that maybe it could help._

 _It's too bad that you weren't able to come to Hogwarts. We would have loved to specially dub you as our marauder protégé after that brilliant prank in Diagon Alley! But maybe you can still help us from afar. A new year Is a perfect time for good pranks after all._

 _Our youngest brother was sorted this year. He made Gryffindor like us, which isn't really a surprise considering our whole family always gets sorted to this house. He was right afraid to be sorted at first though. We may have let it slip that he'd have to fight to the death or pass a test to get in… We imagine he was probably tickled to find out that it's just a musty old hat that does the trick for you. Ah, sweet innocent little Ronnikins._

 _Nothing interesting has happened yet. The Headmaster and Professor McGonagall looked pretty sullen at the feast for some reason. That's a bit unusual because old Dumbles is usually merry and colorful at the entrance feast. Even his welcoming speech was a bit ominous this year. He warned students against the third floor corridor with the threat that we might meet our deaths… perhaps a bit of investigating is in order later? We doubt it's actually anything dangerous, but wouldn't they be mad if we planted a bit of a surprise to whoever goes up there?_

 _Hope all is well! Write back soon!_

 _Gred and Forge Weasley_

Harry smiled happily as he placed the letter to the side. He'd never had any real friends who had wanted to write to him before. Even if he really didn't care about what went on at the school, it was nice just to know that he'd made enough of an impression that they still wanted to remain in contact with him. Thinking over the letter, he chuckled a bit to himself realizing that he was probably the reason that the professors had been in a bad mood. He'd have to remember to write the twins back after his lessons.

As if someone had read his mind, there was suddenly a knock on his door and he looked up to see Murdoc peaking into his room. "Ah, there you are," Murdoc smiled slyly, pushing the door the rest of the way open. "Remus appears ta' be runnin' a touch late so I figured we coul' go ova' some of the things I wanna' teach yeh while we wait."

"Okay!" Harry said excitedly as he stood from his beanbag chair. He quickly grabbed a handful of books and followed the green man down the hall to a different room that Russel had helped Murdoc turn into a makeshift classroom. There was a large round table in the middle of the room with two chairs. One was for Harry and one would be for whoever the instructor was who was teaching him. There was also a few notebooks and pens as well as a few empty bookshelves to store text books among other things. There was also a shabby looking marker board hanging up on one side of the room with a few new dry erase markers and an eraser. Harry quickly sat in his seat and waited for Murdoc to do the same as he stared up at him expectantly.

"Firs' I want to make it clear tha' jus' because yeh have a wand doesn' mean yeh should limit yourself. Nowadays, wizards depend too much on the cores in their wands an' it gets 'em in trouble. If I knocked a wand outta' the hand of a modern day wizard, e'd be like a fish outta' water. I don't wan' you ter be like tha'. Yer too valuable ter be outwitted by something so stupid."

"But all of my textbooks say that you have to have a wand to cast spells," Harry pointed out with a frown. "I haven't seen anything that says otherwise yet. Though I did read in one of those history books you gave me that some schools use staffs."

Murdoc made a face that suggested he didn't care for either of those philosophies and continued. "The few times I've used magic 'round you 'ave you seen me use a wand?" he asked, watching as Harry immediately shook his head no. "Tha's because I know 'ow to sense my core. All magical beings 'ave magical cores. The problem is tha' most magical families are very… closely related. Inna' marriages an' all that rot. To keep the lines pure, they've unintentionally diluted themselves. To combat tha' they create magical items tha' contain the cores of otha' magical beings so tha' they can have an easier time focusing their magic. In your wand it's tha' phoenix feather. Your core harmonizes with it an' it amplifies yer magic like light inna' prism. Understand?"

Harry nodded, but his brows were knitted together thoughtfully. "But how can I feel my core?" he asked curiously.

"'Ave you had a chance teh practice any o' those spells yet?" Murdoc asked, narrowing his mismatched eyes at Harry. He laughed when the boy turned bright pink and nodded. "Been successful at any of 'em?"

"Yes, just one so far," Harry nodded, taking out his wand. With a jerky swish of his wand he whispered, " _Lumos!_ " A small ball of light lit the end of Harry's wand and both the boy and the man stared at it in rapt fascination. For Harry it was because magic was still so new and delightful for him. Murdoc was just impressed that the boy had been learning on his own.

"Hold it there," the older man ordered, "Feel where tha' wand is pulling yer magic from."

Harry screwed up his face in concentration. At first, he didn't really feel anything, but slowly he felt a sort of tingle that was traveling from down his arm. He tried to follow the feeling, but it was difficult because he had never tried before.

"Cancel the spell." Murdoc said, watching as the light dimmed and Harry's shoulders relaxed. The feeling slowly went away with it. Ebony ringed emeralds locked onto the older man's gaze as the boy cocked his head to the side.

"I think… that it was coming from somewhere in my chest but I'm not sure," he said honestly, trying to wrap his head around what exactly he was trying to describe.

"Magical cores are closely tied teh souls," Murdoc supplied. "Where eva' yeh feel yer soul is, you'll most likely really be feeling yer core. Try teh do the same spell minus tha' stick."

Harry bit his lip nervously as he sat his wand on the table and held out his hand palm up. " _Lumos!"_ Nothing happened.

"Noooo," Murdoc drawled sarcastically, "Feel for yer core. Yeh just felt it, now try to recreate tha' feeling. Try again, kid."

Harry sighed and tried closing his eyes this time. He imagined how he had felt when he'd cast the same spell moments before. He imagined the current of magic warming his chest and tingling down his arm and how he'd felt a weird sort of static enveloping him as he'd done so. " _Lumos!"_

His hand suddenly felt warm.

He opened his eyes and marveled at a weak glow of light that hung in the air over his hand. It wasn't very strong and it wavered a bit, but it was there. Harry was so amazed that he didn't realize they were no longer alone until a gasp escaped the new occupant causing him to lose focus as the light once again flickered out.

" _Remarkable,_ " Remus said breathlessly as his pale blue eyes sparkled in awe at the idea that someone so young could be attempting wandless magic.

"Hey, you're the man at the Leaky Cauldron that 2D was talking to!" Harry realized with a start as Remus fully entered the room. Murdoc stood, giving the man a nod of greeting before looking back to Harry.

"Keep practicing, kid. You're a natural," Murdoc smirked, showing off his pointy discolored teeth. Harry gave him a matching, though less pointy grin in response and gave a small wave of fair well as his father made to exit the room. "All yours," he mock bowed to Remus before closing the door behind him.

Remus rolled his eyes and set down a tattered briefcase on his side of the table before joining Harry in sitting down. "Hello, Harry," he greeted with a warm smile that seemed to make his eyes glow with friendliness. "My name is Remus Lupin and I have been commandeered into tutoring you everything you need to know to be on par with what would have been your fellow first years. You may call me either Remus or Moony." He held out a hand of greeting to Harry who shook it in kind.

"I'm Harry," he greeted with a boyish smile. "Pleased to meet you, Sir."

"Ah, but this is not truly the first time we've met. Though I daresay you probably wouldn't remember." At Harry's confused look, he continued to explain. "I was a close friend of your mother and father. We went to school together and your father's friendship especially meant the world to me."

Harry's smile became somewhat forced before falling away completely. "You knew my parents?" He asked quietly, looking down for a minute. "But you never came to visit me when I lived with my… _relatives_." He said the last word as if it was something fowl. "They never told me about them, you know; my parents. It was a sore subject for them."

Remus' expression suddenly became very serious as he reached out across the table and grabbed his hand causing the younger boy to look up in the man's suddenly misty yet fierce eyes.

"There are more things at work here than you realize, Harry. Trust me when I say that if I had known a safe way to visit you, then I would have. If I'd have known… especially what I do now then _nothing_ would have been able to stop me from coming to you." Unknowingly, Remus' eyes had started glinting a strange yellow aura. He was currently remembering what Murdoc had told him at the Leaky Cauldron and the wolf in him was raging that someone had hurt his friend's cub. The pack mentality in him was screaming for vengeance.

In hindsight, Harry would later wonder why this look hadn't terrified him but at the time he saw Remus' words for what they were – the truth. This man's eyes held plenty of guilt and sorrow. But even more than that, he could see compassion, loyalty, and maybe even love. He couldn't help but trust this stranger's words. He could not find it in him to be angry.

"Moony… can you tell me about them?" he asked in a voice so quite that had the other man not been a werewolf he may have had to strain to hear. It was a voice that clearly showed how afraid this boy was that he would be turned down. Harry ached to know the parents that he had never once heard a good thing about. He was nearly holding his breath in anticipation.

"Oh Harry," the man said gently with reassurance in his eyes. "I'll tell you anything you want to know."

Lessons could wait. There were many tears and peels of laughter as Remus poured his heart out that afternoon and told Harry all about the antics of his best friends growing up while leaving out some of the hairier details.

Outside the door, a curious Noodle had her ear pressed against the door. When she heard the laughter and that there were no signs of her newest friend being upset anymore, she looked out and gave a thumbs up to 2D who gave her a gapped-toothed grin. Everything was going to be okay.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hi there! Sorry about the long wait. Life can get crazy I guess lol. Stay tuned for the next chapter as Murdoc goes on a mission to convince everyone's favorite snarky potion's master to teach Harry during his free periods. Should be fuuuun. Also Russel, Noods, and 2D plan ways to get Harry to lighten up and be a kid!

Also, I realize that the Weasley Twin's letter was sort of plain, but not only do I want Harry to have friends, but also we need ways to keep in touch with what is going on in the Wizarding World. This way the story lines will continue to grow with one another as paths cross through multiple means.


	10. Chapter 10

**Harry Potter and the Flip of a Niccal**

 _By: KKM_

 _Disclaimer:_ I do not own the _Harry Potter_ series or any associated characters. _Harry Potter_ is © J. K. Rowling. I also do not own the _Gorillaz_ or any associated characters/songs. _Gorillaz_ are © Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.

* * *

 **Comments:**

 **Franaletorres –** Lol! Your comment made me giggle. Thank you for your support!

 **Beowolfalien –** Thank you so much!

* * *

 **Last Time:**

 _"Moony… can you tell me about them?" he asked in a voice so quite that had the other man not been a werewolf he may have had to strain to hear. It was a voice that clearly showed how afraid this boy was that he would be turned down. Harry ached to know the parents that he had never once heard a good thing about. He was nearly holding his breath in anticipation._

 _"Oh Harry," the man said gently with reassurance in his eyes. "I'll tell you anything you want to know."_

 _Lessons could wait. There were many tears and peels of laughter as Remus poured his heart out that afternoon and told Harry all about the antics of his best friends growing up while leaving out some of the hairier details._

 _Outside the door, a curious Noodle had her ear pressed against the door. When she heard the laughter and that there were no signs of her newest friend being upset anymore, she looked out and gave a thumbs up to 2D who gave her a gapped toothed grin. Everything was going to be okay._

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Ensnaring the Senses**

Murdoc scratched his chin thoughtfully with one of his long, discolored talons as he stared intently at well… _something_. To the naked eye it looked like nothing was in front of him except the thousands of trees that knotted and tangled around the grounds of the _Forbidden Forrest_. He knew better though. He could _feel_ the old magic of the invisible barrier that was before him. But how to cross it?

Knowing that Harry was in the capable hands of his new tutor, the Satanist had decided that it was time to approach the second man needed to fulfill his son's education requirements. He'd been putting it off much longer than he should have and considering the start of term was this week, he knew it would be that much harder to get his attention. Such a minor inconvenience wouldn't stop Murdoc Niccals! He was used to harder than usual tasks. With this in mind, he was reasonably sure with himself that where there was a will there was a way!

 _Kong Studios_ did not have a fireplace that he knew of or one that would be attached to a wizarding floo in any case. This meant that he'd had to improvise a bit. In one of his old spell books he'd found an incantation that would be similar to apparition except it was capable of teleporting for longer distances. In the car park behind his Winnie he'd drawn a large circle of chalk and then had begun to meticulously draw out the symbols that would allow him safe travel to the outskirts of _Hogsmeade_. When he was ready, he sat cross legged in the center of the circle and began to chant the required Latin phrases in quick succession. He then closed his eyes and allowed himself to become one with his magic.

At first, nothing seemed to happen. But gradually a wind began to pick up as it swirled around him causing his greasy bangs to blow wildly to the side. He closed his eyes tighter and grit his teeth as a hot magenta aura started to dart around him striking the ground at random leaving scorch marks in the cement. He grimaced in pain as one of the bolts enveloped him in the fierce, almost electric light. Then he suddenly felt as if every particle in his body had been blown away only to recongregate immediately in a violent jolt.

When he felt a breeze on his cheeks he carefully opened his eyes with a wheeze as he gasped to catch his breath. It was far too bright and cheery outside, but he'd made it. He had teleported directly to the outskirts of Hogsmeade. Take that, _Hogwarts_ education! Once he'd regained his senses, he'd quickly cast a wandless disillusionment charm on himself and had headed into the part of the forest that would lead him to the castle grounds.

He knew that the school would be warded, but he hadn't expected the wards to extend so deep into the forest.

After a long time of contemplation, Murdoc decided that the most reasonable course of action would be to introduce himself to the wards so that the castle would understand that he was not a threat. Carefully, he lifted his hands and gently stroked the wards with his claws like one might to a big fluffy rabbit.

The reaction was immediate. The wards vibrated in curiosity at such an odd greeting. 'Oh yes,' Murdoc smirked to himself, 'she _is_ sentient.' And the castle beneath the wards was indeed a she! He could tell these things. Not to mention he'd spent the past few days researching various books on the topic including the ever popular and most likely outdated _Hogwarts, A History_. But that was besides the point. He now had the castle's attention. He wasn't worried about this though. Murdoc had a _way_ with the ladies.

"Why, 'ello there luv," he said pleasantly as he continued to gently strum at the wards with his sinful digits as if he was caressing his _El Diablo_. "Fancy meeting you 'ere. I knew you'd be powerful, but I mus' say you're a lo' more breathtakin' in person than I'd originally reckoned."

The wards seemed to glow red in warning which caused him to chuckle as he gently leaned closer as if to whisper something positively delightful. "Now now. None o' that, luv. Ol' Mudsy innit 'ere ter cause you problems," he promised. "I'm actually 'ere to see an ol' mate, if you could help a chap out."

The wards stayed silent as if contemplating, but otherwise he could feel no reaction to that, so he continued.

"Wot if I offered you a trade? You le' me in withou' causin' a ruckus so I can see my mate an' I'll agree no' only to mind my peas an' ques but I'll also teach _you_ somethin'."

He laughed as the wards flashed indignantly at him as if to taunt, 'What could a little ant like you teach something as great and magnificent as me?'

"How would you li' the power ter zap on demand? Think 'bout it, someone does something stupid – you could zap 'em on the arse. Why, you coul' even pull pranks on ol' Dumbles and make 'im think his bright robes are full of static!" He chuckled and then lowered his voice to a musky timber. "You coul' even stop intruders by zapping 'em something fierce until they resemble a scorch mark under the sun if ya' like, luv. Think of all that extra power."

He could feel the wards warm under his ministrations as the castle was obviously intrigued. There were many ancient and powerful spells woven into her wards, but none of them involved the ability to either cause harm or directly affect those within her little bubble unless you counted the giant enchanted stone knights. But no one ever seemed to have a use for _those_. They just weren't practical. But _zapping_! Something like that could come in handy if there was ever any dangers in the castle. Plus, nowhere in the agreement had Murdoc said that he would be immune to this power. For all he knew, she could zap him to a crisp if she felt like it as soon as he crossed the barrier. That thought seemed to settle the matter for her.

The wards pulsed warm in his hands and the barrier became visible to his mismatched eyes. As a precaution, he noticed that the spell lines were blurred slightly so that he would not be able to cause harm or undo any of them. She'd effectively cut off any ways to breach her wards while allowing herself to gain more.

"Smart girl," he said under his breath before nodding. "Then we 'ave an accord," he said confidently as he began to draw the runes for the ward additive with one of his pointed nails. After nearly an hour of working, the runes glowed an electric blue before fading into the barrier as the castle absorbed the information and was most likely duplicating the spell throughout every inch of the wards as his handy work became a bound protection.

He waited a moment and then tentatively stepped forward. He shuddered a bit as the wards washed through him and allowed him to pass. "Well, alright then. Thank you, m'lady," he mock bowed. Then he let out a manly squeak as the wards really did zap him on the ass like he suggested. He glared a bit and rubbed his bottom petulantly before sticking his long tongue out lazily. "I knew I liked yeh for a reason, you frisky minx," he purred before quickly continuing on his way through the forest with a bit of a bounce in his step.

When he finally reached the castle grounds he let out a low whistle as he admired the beautiful architecture. He thoughts were bitter sweet as he imagined what he missed out on and what it might have been like to be taught within her glorious walls. But then he frowned and shook his head. There was no use in thinking on things that had never been nor would be. Professor McGonagall had taken that dream from him, so he'd have to make due with being an impartial guest.

He was still under the disillusionment charm when he entered the castle's front doors, but he was surprised to find the grand entrance unoccupied besides some old statues of armor and of course the ever populated moving portraits. The students were probably all in class by now. The castle must have done something too because none of the portraits seemed surprised by his presence. It still creeped him out a bit that their eyes still followed him as he passed though he knew very well that they could not actually see him.

"You'll want the stairs going down to the dungeons! Just up there! Don't let the stairs get you!" a painting of a girl with a pink parasol directed, jabbing her umbrella in the direction he should go.

"Thanks…" he muttered. And here he'd though _Kong_ could be creepy. However, when he finally made his way to the grand staircase, he couldn't help but gape in wonder as he watched rows and rows of staircases moving back and forth. It was one thing to read about such enchantments, but another thing entirely to see it in person. Blinking stupidly, he shook his head and chose the staircase that seemed to be leading down to the dungeons. Luckily, this staircase did not appear to be of the moving variety.

The further he climbed down, the darker and draftier his surrounding area seemed to become. There were less portraits down here and the walls were stone with the drapings of green and silver decorating its daunting halls. At the bottom of the staircase was a long hallway lit by torches with more of the Slytherin house tapestries and decorations lining the walls. His steps echoed more down here and he felt slightly self-conscious about his ability to sneak down around in such an amplified setting. As an afterthought, he quickly cast a spell on his Italian leather boots to muffle his steps in the dark corridor.

Up ahead he heard a door bang open as a large group of young students made their voices known. A class must have just dismissed. Murdoc muttered a few profanities under his breath and quickly hid himself behind a statue as a group of very young-looking children in green and red trimmed robes bustled by chattering loudly about their next classes. When they passed, Murdoc let out a sigh of relief and was about to step back into the corridor when he heard scuffle not too far away. He carefully edged forward to get a better look.

A small plump boy in a red trimmed robe was surrounded by three boys in green trimmed robes. The boy in the middle of this unfair trio was blonde with aristocratic features and he was being flanked by two rather hulking masses. Judging by the fear on the plump boy's face, this was not a friendly meeting.

"You're _pathetic_ , Longbottom. Even a Muggleborn could have answered _those_ questions," the blonde boy sniffed in disdain. "It's a wonder you didn't blow us all up with your stupidity. And you call yourself a pureblood."

"S-sod off, Malfoy," the plump boy stuttered. "I-I don't want any t-trouble."

" _S-s-s-s-stoooop Malfooooy_ ," the blonde boy mocked in a high-pitched voice before laughing with his goons. "You sound even worse than that hack, Quirrell. Maybe I should give you something to be afraid of," he threatened as he began to take his wand out.

Something about the Longbottom boy reminded Murdoc strongly of Harry. He remembered how fearful his son had been those first few nights. He clenched his teeth together tightly as he made the decision to act. But before he could move, the door to the dungeon classroom slammed back open and a new presence made themselves known.

At first, Murdoc could only see a dark silhouette as the figure paused to take in the scene before them. Everyone in the corridor froze as the threatening presence gracefully swept forward with a billowing trail of inky black robes in his wake as he stepped between the students.

"Is there a problem here?" his rich voice intoned as a tall man with a sallow face and shoulder length greasy black hair came into view. If his looks were intimidating, then his voice just added to the affect. It was clear that he was in charge here and there would be no questions asked…

Murdoc had to cover his mouth to prevent the sudden bubble of laughter that threatened to escape this apparently pivotal moment. Satan, he knew that Severus could be dramatic, but really!? Hell, he looked like he was trying to imitate a vampire or something equally as mysterious if the looks of horror on his students' faces were anything to go by. Murdoc gave his old friend a mental kudo for effort.

"No professor, we were simply helping Longbottom to his next class," the Malfoy boy lied smoothly as he straightened his stance and quirked one of his elegant eyebrows to the other two green-clad boys who nodded quickly in agreement.

"Is that so," Severus stated calmly, not taking his dark fathomless gaze from the confident boy. "And tell me, Mister Malfoy. Does escorting Mister Longbottom to his next class require your wand? Perhaps you intended to levitate his belongings for him. I find this curious considering you have yet to attend a Charms lesson." The blonde paled as he realized the older man knew exactly what he was trying to pull and stayed silent. "Five points from Slytherin. Get. To. Class."

The three Slytherins knew a dismissal when they were given one. Each of them glared at the plump boy before running off and disappearing down the hall.

"T-thank you, P-professor," Longbottom stuttered, still clinging to his belongings as if they would save him from the intimidating man. He jumped in timid fright when the glowering man's eyes snapped to his.

"15 points from Gryffindor for being late to your next class and another 5 points for letting yourself be caught off guard," he intoned dispassionately. "Do not disappoint me again or it will be a detention. _Go_."

Murdoc grinned evilly from his hiding place as he watched the little boy stumble and run away as if he was about to shit himself. Severus had balls now! Oh, this was even better than he imagined. His friend was just as snarky and dark as he remembered him, but this newfound confidence and fear factor was brilliant!

As the child disappeared from sight, Murdoc began to slowly clap as he released his disillusionment and stepped from behind the statue. "Not bad, Snape. I'm _impressed!_ " Dark eyes snapped over to him in disbelief. Before Murdoc could utter another word 13 ½ inches of polished dark wood was shoved dangerously close to his broken nose. "Now Severus, is tha' any way to greet an ol' mate?"

Snape's expression did not change as he continued to eye his prey without lowering his wand. "What was the name of our childhood friend?" he asked, his lips barely moving as his full concentration stayed on Murdoc, who he perceived to be an immediate threat.

"Liiiillllly," Murdoc purred the name, watching in amusement as Severus' eye twitched in annoyance. Severus used to _hate_ it when he did that. It had never failed to make Lilly giggle back in the day.

"How did you get into the castle without being detected?" It must have taken a lot of restraint to ask just that one question because Murdoc could tell by the other man's tensed jawline that he wanted to ask more.

"Does it matter?" Murdoc shrugged. When Snape still didn't lower his wand, Murdoc gave a dramatic sigh and rolled his mismatched eyes in exasperation. "Innit obvious? I walked in! Not a single bloody greeter or howdy-do neither. Well, it's a wonder that they keep anyone out if a bloke can just waltz right in," he felt a slight static fill the air and he cleared his throat quickly before adding, "Though a lovely place to visit. Really love what they've done ter tha' place."

Severus lowered his wand with a grimace. "Do you think it's wise visiting here when you've got the entire staff in an uproar over Potter? I doubt the Headmaster would be very pleased with your presence."

"Ah, but he ain't here, is he?" Murdoc chuckled before gesturing back to the man's classroom. "Shall we?"

"My office is down the hall," Severus replied, still looking suspicious as he turned and stiffly led him to the next door down the hall.

"Oh, stop being so prickly," the bassist jeered, "Tha' shit may work with your 'ickle firsties, but I've seen you at yer worst, mate."

"I very much doubt that," Severus said under his breath, but Murdoc still caught it. Soon they had entered, and Severus sat in his customary seat behind his large cherrywood desk and Murdoc had plopped down with an air of flippantness. "Now, why are you here bothering me after all these years?"

"Miss me?" Murdoc batted his mismatched eyes at him. When Severus only stared in reaction, he cleared his throat and sat up a bit. Straight to business, then. "As you know, I 'ave taken in young 'Arry as my ward. Wot yeh don't know, bu' I'm sure will eventually be found out, is tha' I also adopted the little bugga." Severus' eye brow did raise at that, but Murdoc brushed it off with a wave of his hand. "He grew on m-Hey! Watch it!"

Murdoc's speech was interrupted as the stoic potion's professor suddenly reach out and grasped his waving wrist. This happened to be the hand with the blood adoption scar on it. The professor's expression went from blank to furious in a matter of moments. " _What did you do!?_ Do you know how dangerous that potion is? What did you even brew it in? _WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?"_

"You know exactly wot I did, you great twit!" Murdoc growled, yanking his hand free and rubbing his now aching wrist as his mismatched eyes glared warily at him. " _I_ brewed the damn thing! And if you mus' know, I used a common dingy kitchen pot; I was fresh out of gold cauldrons." At this statement, Severus looked completely blown away and was about to yell some more when Murdoc cut him off, " _IT WAS THE DECENT THING TO DO!_ Tha' child was skin an' bones when I found 'im! Who knows wot woulda' happened if I'd taken 'im back to those pathetic Muggles. It's bad 'nuff tha' when I found 'im at _Spinner's End_ of all places tha' some drugged-out wanker was about to beat the piss out of 'im."

"You found Lilly's child at _Spinner's End_?" Severus said with incredulity, "But he was supposed to be protected with Tuney's family."

Murdoc let out a snort. "Is tha' who he was staying with? Wish I'd have known _tha'_ little piece about a month ago." He vaguely remembered Petunia from when they were kids. She never liked them and always had thumbed her little horsey nose at them. He could only recall seeing her a small handful of times. "Well, he'll neva be going back there. They can rot for all I care."

Severus was very rigid now as he watched Murdoc thoughtfully. "Why are you here?" he asked again. His voice was lowered, but there was still an almost painful edge to it.

"I don' trust Dumbledore or his little cat-friend. I also don't trust the ministry no' to try and turn tha' boy into a trinket for their political gain. You've 'eard the stories well as I. If it's no' Voldemort-" Snape winced and Murdoc ignored him, "then it'll be some otha' rotter tryin' the get at 'im. He's my son now and I won't le' that happen. I _will_ train him ter be able to protect himself, bu' I need help."

"No," Severus said almost immediately with a peculiar look of contempt in his eye. "I have a job here. I will not be at _Potter's_ spawn's beck and call."

" _Lilly's,_ " Murdoc hissed, with a dangerous look in his now glowing red eye. He'd immediately caught the insult to Harry's pedigree. "I dun' know wot you have against Potter, an' frankly I don' give a shit. Harry takes afta' Lilly. If you _really_ gave a fuck abou' her, then you wouldn' give two shits abou' his _dead_ father. _I_ am his father now."

He watched as Severus clenched and unclenched his fist on the desk top. He kept his mouth shut and Murdoc was sure he'd just hit a very sore mark with him. But at least now the git was listening. "He won' need much of your time. I already 'ave a tutor plus myself teachin' him. I just need you once or twice a week for potions," he paused. Then he chuckled darkly and added, "Unless you _want_ me ter teach 'im with my best cooking pots! I bet Lilly just woulda' loved _that."_

"Fine," Severus intoned, removing his agitated hand from his desk as he appeared to remove any signs of discomfort. "Twice a week during my free periods I will teach him potions and minor herbology. I expect him to be respectful and complete his work. I will not stand for incompetence."

"That's all I ask," Murdoc nodded, privately congratulating himself for knowing how to press people's buttons. Sweet Satan, he was good!

* * *

 **A/N:** Woo! Another chapter completed! I know the wards part was a little different, but I wanted a unique way for Mudz to get in without having to chance a run-in with Albus or Minerva. In the next chapter, Harry gets to see his first Gorillaz rehearsal! Also, Murdoc received a letter from Gringotts. Stay tuned!


	11. Chapter 11

**Harry Potter and the Flip of a Niccal**

 _By: KKM_

 _Disclaimer:_ I do not own the _Harry Potter_ series or any associated characters. _Harry Potter_ is © J. K. Rowling. I also do not own the _Gorillaz_ or any associated characters/songs. _Gorillaz_ are © Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.

* * *

 **Comments:**

 **Beowolfalien –** LOL! That would be pretty funny! Hed be like, "Uhhhh… Yesss, it's great… so did you day this was your only job?" XD

 **Mellra –** Ah, 19-2000 is a good one! I love Saturnz Barz too, but that song would come waaaay later in their lives. We're in Phase 1 right now so we have to stick to the Tomorrow Comes Today LP, Gorillaz self-named album, and G-Sides for now. Thank you for reading! 😊

* * *

 **Last Time:**

 _"No," Severus said almost immediately with a peculiar look of contempt in his eye. "I have a job here. I will not be at Potter's spawn's beck and call."_

" _Lilly's," Murdoc hissed, with a dangerous look in his now glowing red eye. He'd immediately caught the insult to Harry's pedigree. "I dun' know wot you have against Potter, an' frankly I don' give a shit. Harry takes afta' Lilly. If you really gave a fuck abou' her, then you wouldn' give two shits abou' his dead father. I am his father now."_

 _He watched as Severus clenched and unclenched his fist on the desk top. He kept his mouth shut and Murdoc was sure he'd just hit a very sore mark with him. But at least now the git was listening. "He won' need much of your time. I already 'ave a tutor plus myself teachin' him. I just need you once or twice a week for potions," he paused. Then he chuckled darkly and added, "Unless you want me ter teach 'im with my best cooking pots! I bet Lilly just woulda' loved that."_

" _Fine," Severus intoned, removing his agitated hand from his desk as he appeared to remove any signs of discomfort. "Twice a week during my free periods I will teach him potions and minor herbology. I expect him to be respectful and complete his work. I will not stand for incompetence."_

" _That's all I ask," Murdoc nodded, privately congratulating himself for knowing how to press people's buttons. Sweet Satan, he was good!_

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Clint Eastwood**

Harry watched his friends with rapt attention from _Kong_ 's sound booth as they warmed up their instruments. Growing up, Harry hadn't been allowed to listen to very much music and especially not the kind that Murdoc had hinted that this lot liked to play. His Aunt Petunia had been a staunch Catholic so the only music that had ever escaped her small radio had been that of Gospel. As far as he knew, his Uncle Vernon had never really listened to music. Instead, his Uncle's modest little Vauxhall Chevette always seemed to drone on with the latest news and politics. Harry mentally shuttered at the memory of how the uncomfortable tan leather seats always made him car sick because his Uncle refused to ever roll down the windows lest the smell of new car escape the tiny vessel. Dudley had listened to music, but it was mostly underground rap that his mother would have fainted had she ever heard what they were saying. Harry had enjoyed a few of the songs, but he wasn't sure that _Road Rap_ was for him.

At the backbone of the group, Russel was adjusting his snare as he tapped it a moment with one of his drum sticks and then played an experimental beat. Every now and then he would pause, muttering something under his breath as he carefully moved the pieces of his beloved drum set in such a way that Harry wondered if he wasn't being slightly OCD about it. Noodle was at the left of the stage wearing her strange looking radio helmet as she tuned her guitar. Harry had asked her about her helmet a few days ago and she'd confided in him that she liked to wear it to practice because sometimes the speakers during rehearsals and performances hurt her ears. She mostly wore it around _Kong_ as a way of making sure that it wouldn't irritate her when she was on stage. She'd also programmed it so that she could hear the first chord in the headphones she needed to match before each song to make sure she was in tune. He couldn't fault her for that kind of logic. His father was to the right staring at his bandmates in boredom as he waited for them to ready themselves. He was the only one not bothering to tune as he stroked his _El Diablo_ absently. 2D was standing in the front but to the left a little so that Russ could still be easily seen as he fiddled with his Casio keyboard and hummed to warm up his voice.

Harry thought it was funny how the longer they took to warm up, the louder the sounds seemed to crescendo with them, and the more annoyed their leader seemed to look. Finally, Murdoc could take it more longer and he strummed a single very loud note from his beloved base that had them all silenced immediately. All three looked to their leader for direction.

"From tha' top!" he sneered and they all nodded in return.

Russ played a short tempo to give them the counts of how fast to go and then they were off! Harry listened in wonder as they played seamlessly together. It was so weird to see the family he'd gotten to know over the past month be in such harmony with each other. Before long, he felt himself nodding along with the rhythms.

Every song sounded completely different from one another! It was such an odd concept, but for these four it just worked. Harry wasn't sure that he could safely put any of them into a music genre. One moment they would play something like _Punk_ where they sounded like a garage band and the next they'd play something hauntingly beautiful like _Starshine_. _19-2000_ was so completely different than anything he'd ever heard before that at first his mind could barely accept it, but by the end he was practically singing along! _Double Bass_ was amazing as Noodle had ditched her acoustic and instead picked up a worn bass of her own as she and Murdoc battled each other. He could tell by the glint in their eyes that this was a favorite of theirs. _Ghost Train_ was another song that she could not help but vibe with, it was just so catchy!

 _New Genius_ probably affected Harry a bit more than it should have. He was glad to have been hiding in the sound booth where the band couldn't see him as he performed. The song hit a little too close to home for him and his was privately embarrassed that by the end his expressive green eyes were glassy and moist. Something about the lyrics made him want to be free and emotional as he released a shaky breath. It really was a powerful song in his opinion. When the song was over, he quickly wiped at his eyes and sniffed, hoping that his reaction wouldn't be obvious later.

Then, before he knew it, the _Gorillaz_ were drawing to a close as Murdoc picked up the mic and spoke. "An' now fo' our finale! We saved this one ter make a lasting impression," he smirked knowingly as the rest of the band smiled in anticipation. Noodle set down her guitar and took out a blue melodica that had been sitting on a stand next to her. Harry tilted his head curiously as Russel started the downbeat, wondering what they had in store for him.

" _I ain't Happy, I'm feelin' glad._

 _I go' sunshine inna bag!_

 _I'm useless, bu' not fo' long._

 _Tha future is comin' on!_

 _I ain't Happy, I'm feelin' glad._

 _I go' sunshine inna bag!_

 _I'm useless, bu' not fo' long._

 _Tha future is comin' on!_

 _It's comin' on. It's comin' on. It's comin' on."_

As 2D began to sing the first lines of the chorus, Harry couldn't help but sit up straight. He wasn't watching the blue-haired singer however. His eyes were focused on the big drummer instead. Something looked to be very wrong with his friends as Russel began twitching and swaying a little. Harry stood up in a fright when the big man suddenly seemed to pass out and there was a big flash of light. His hair stood on end as he witnessed possibly the most terrifying thing he'd every seen – a spectre of some sort seemed to escape from Russel's head making his presence known. Harry was too shocked to move as the celestial being gave him a saucy wink and began to rap the catchiest lyrics the young wizard had ever heard.

All the while, Russel's arms continued to move as his sticks kept the perfect beat though he was clearly unconscious. The other bandmates didn't react as if a seemingly dead rapper escaping their friend's head was a daily occurrence. Harry now suddenly understood all of the haunting jokes he'd heard over the weeks with startling clarity. He'd thought they were all joking about the zombies in the carpark, but maybe the jokes were really about the ghosts in Russel's head!

He found himself calming down as he gazed at them all with an awed expression. This was just so _cool_. He found himself completely captivated as he listened to the amazing lyrics.

" _Now I'm sucked into your lies_  
 _Through Russel, not his muscles but percussion he provides!_  
 _For me as a guide_  
 _Y'all can see me now 'cause you don't see with your eye;_  
 _You perceive with your mind_  
 _That's the inner_  
 _So I'ma stick around with Russ' and be a mentor_  
 _Bust a few rhymes so motherfuckers remember where the thought is_  
 _I brought all this_  
 _So you can survive when law is lawless (right here)_  
 _Feelings, sensations that you thought was dead_  
 _No squealing,_

 _Remember that it's all in your head!"_

2D finished out the remaining lyrics to the chorus as Noodle, Russel, and Murdoc continued to play the almost carnival like melody in the background. Harry's eyes widened as he realized the ghost seemed to be floating in his direction. He yelped in surprise when the dreadlock clad ghost came through the window of the sound booth. He stumbled back, causing the ghost to laugh good-naturedly.

"Don't hurt yo'self, little man. The name's Del," he introduced in an American accent not unlike Russel's with a wide smile which revealed a few golden teeth. "I come out when Russel checks out, you dig?"

Harry nodded as he continued to stare wide-eyed at the ghost. "I'm Harry," he found himself saying. "P-pleased to meet you."

Del gave another hearty laugh and then began to drift back out again. "Take it easy, little man. Until next tiiiime!"

By the time Murdoc struck the final chord, Del had sucked himself back into Russel's head causing another clap of bright light before the big man was suddenly awake again shaking his head as if to clear it.

Harry stayed still a moment and then found himself running out of the booth and toward them. "That. Was. _AMAZING!_ " he exclaimed to their immense pleasure. "Russ, how did you _do_ that!?"

Russ winced a bit but continued smiling nonetheless. "I've always been real in tune with spirits. Del's an old friend," he offered. "I'm glad you liked him. I'm sure you'll see more of him in the future."

"Wicked!" Harry grinned.

After that, 2D suggested a pizza and movie night was in order. The others all agreed with the stipulation that there would be no zombie movies. This made 2D pout, but he got over it quickly when Noodle suggested _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Legend of the Ooze_. This was a house-favorite, so he didn't mind giving up his favorite horror movies to watch it. When Harry let it slip that he'd never seen a Ninja Turtles Movie, it was then decided that they would have to watch _both_ movies to catch him up to speed.

"You coming, Mudz?" Russ asked as they all started to head toward the kitchen.

"Nah, I 'ave some business in me Winnie ter take care of. You lot have a good time," he said as he mused Harrys hair as he ran by. The eleven year old smacked his hand away and stuck his tongue out at him before running off to catch up with 2D and Noodle.

"Aight man, but don't expect there to be any pizza left," he shrugged as he followed the others. As Murdoc turned toward the lift, he could hear Russel asking the others what kinds of pizza they'd want and their answering replies. He allowed himself a private smile of satisfaction as the lift lowered down to the carpark.

The closer he got to his Winnie, the more his grin began to fade. Sighing, he entered and picked up the letter he'd received that morning from Gringotts. The wax seal was still unbroken as he'd decided to enjoy his day before getting to business. He knew that this letter would most likely have to do with the situation involving Harry's accounts.

With the letter still clutched in his hand, he flopped down into his armchair and ripped it open before beginning to read.

 _Dear Mr. Niccals,_

 _As discussed previously, here are a list of your dependent Harry Potter-Niccals' Assets. I have also included a list of all withdraws over the past 11 years including anything that has been sold. If anything is amiss, please contact us._

 _Accounts:_

 _Potter Trust Vault: 46,322 galleons, 1 sickle, and 27 knuts._

 _Main Potter Vault: 1,265,625 galleons, 4 sickles, and 10 knuts._

 _Black Vault: 2,356,942 galleons, 0 sickles, 34 knuts._

 _Niccals Vault: 200 galleons, 0 sickles, 0 knuts._

 _Properties:_

 _Godric's Hollow: Net Value: 164,793 galleons – Current Status: Uninhabitable/Historical Landmark_

 _#12 Grimmuald Place: Net Value: 257,680 galleons – Current status: Uninhabitable/Abandoned_

 _Potter Mansion: Net Value: 91,324 galleons – Current Status: Uninhabitable/Mansion destroyed by fiendfyre/Only land remains._

As Murdoc continued reading over the accounts his eyes widened quite a bit. That was a lot of dough. A sort of manic giggle bubbled from his lips as he stared at his own measly vault in contrast to the other monsters listed. The trust vault for schooling alone was startling but paled in comparison to what the boy would inherit when he came of age from both the Potter and Black vaults. He frowned a bit at the three unusable properties. Godric's Hollow was a landmark, so he understood why that one was unusable. The Potter Mansion… had the boy's grandparents been attacked in the first war too? That was not a good way to go… The Black property would be useless until the boy turned of age so there was no way to know how bad of shape that was in.

He looked over the next pages which contained in and outgoing transactions and a growl escaped his gravely throat. Because Dumbledore had been acting as Harry's legal magical guardian, there were several transactions involving donations to some fund called the Order of the Phoenix and he could see that an artifact had been removed from the vault. I priceless invisibility cloak of some sort it appeared. He could also see where Harry's family had been receiving funds every month to house the boy.

Well, that would all need to stop.

"Fuck," he muttered as he lit a cigarette and grabbed a yellowed looking notebook from a nearby shelf. It was a good thing that the green man normally handled all the accounting for his band or he might have been at a loss of what to do. That didn't make it any easier though. First, he would write a formal against Dumbledore and the Dursley's cancelling any further withdraws and requesting for funds to be reimbursed immediately. Then he would seek legal action. He'd be damned if anyone would take advantage of his son.

Murdoc Niccals was in for a long sleepless night of accounting.

* * *

 **A/N:** Ugh, the site I used to use for dollars to galleons converting is no longer in service so I had to calculate from dollars to pounds to galleons instead. Murr, I hate math lol. The trust fund has exactly what 7 years of schooling should cost in it per J.K. Rowling's hints. This chapter is a little shorter than usual sorry. In the next chapter, Harry will learn to have fun! We'll be seeing some G-Bitez in action!


	12. Chapter 12

**Harry Potter and the Flip of a Niccal**

 _By: KKM_

 _Disclaimer:_ I do not own the _Harry Potter_ series or any associated characters. _Harry Potter_ is © J. K. Rowling. I also do not own the _Gorillaz_ or any associated characters/songs. _Gorillaz_ are © Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.

* * *

 **Comments:**

 **Beowolfalien –** Yeah, I hear ya. But really, I just wanted Harry to enjoy the moment. I figured that by this point Gorillaz had probably already released their CD so they should know their songs by now. In future rehearsals it will most likely not be as smooth.

 **UrCrazyStalker911 –** Wow, thank you for binge reading! That's always nice to hear. Lol maybe. It depends on if it would fit with the timelines or not to be honest.

* * *

 **Last Time:**

 _As Murdoc continued reading over the accounts his eyes widened quite a bit. That was a lot of dough. A sort of manic giggle bubbled from his lips as he stared at his own measly vault in contrast to the other monsters listed. The trust vault for schooling alone was startling but paled in comparison to what the boy would inherit when he came of age from both the Potter and Black vaults. He frowned a bit at the three unusable properties. Godric's Hollow was a landmark, so he understood why that one was unusable. The Potter Mansion… had the boy's grandparents been attacked in the first war too? That was not a good way to go… The Black property would be useless until the boy turned of age so there was no way to know how bad of shape that was in._

 _He looked over the next pages which contained in and outgoing transactions and a growl escaped his gravely throat. Because Dumbledore had been acting as Harry's legal magical guardian, there were several transactions involving donations to some fund called the Order of the Phoenix and he could see that an artifact had been removed from the vault. I priceless invisibility cloak of some sort it appeared. He could also see where Harry's family had been receiving funds every month to house the boy._

 _Well, that would all need to stop._

 _"Fuck," he muttered as he lit a cigarette and grabbed a yellowed looking notebook from a nearby shelf. It was a good thing that the green man normally handled all the accounting for his band or he might have been at a loss of what to do. That didn't make it any easier though. First, he would write a formal against Dumbledore and the Dursley's cancelling any further withdraws and requesting for funds to be reimbursed immediately. Then he would seek legal action. He'd be damned if anyone would take advantage of his son._

 _Murdoc Niccals was in for a long sleepless night of accounting._

* * *

 **Chapter 12:** **Stomachaches and Camcorders**

After the night that Harry had sat in on the Gorillaz rehearsal, all the residents of _Kong Studios_ began to notice a change in the wayward boy. He was more open with them and seemed to be in higher spirits. They were also thrilled to find that Harry was very curious about their interests. And though so far he hadn't tried an instrument himself, they were encouraged that maybe he might be in the future. Unknown to young Harry, it was now a favorite pastime of the band members to boast about who Harry might ask to teach him to play first. It was all in good fun, yet they were all equally hopeful.

Yet, even with improvement there were still plenty of things that Harry still did that worried them. It now seemed a common occurrence that chores were suddenly finished overnight. A disoriented 2D had nearly had a panic attack one night when he'd stumbled into his room to find that none of his clothes were on the floor. He'd ran back into the living room screaming that gnomes had taken all of his clothes away. He'd been so freaked out that Murdoc had had to smack him upside the head a few times before he'd begun to make sense again. When he and Russ had went down to the carpark to investigate (Noodle had been asleep at the time), they'd ran into a sheepish Harry who'd just exited the singer's room after returning all of the missing clothes freshly laundered and folded.

They didn't always catch him in the act. Sometimes they'd wake up and everything would just be _clean_. He'd even clean the strangest things like Noodle's katana after a zombie hunt or the empty booze bottles strewn throughout Murdoc's Winnie. Not even Russel's taxidermy projects were safe from the mysterious cleaning rampages.

After discussing it with the boys, Noodle had tried to stay up all night to see if maybe she could get him to go back to sleep. But at some point, he must've snuck past her because the dishes had been cleaned and the living room floors had been vacuumed the next morning when everyone had trickled in. Noodle had been very exhausted but very adamant that she hadn't fallen asleep that night when questioned by the boys which lead them all to the conclusion that magic might be involved. More than ever they were determined to teach Harry different outlets other than cleaning so that he could enjoy himself and be just a normal kid… or as normal as anyone could be in their home anyway.

" _HAWWY!_ Hawwy-chan!" Noodle yelled in a thick accent as she ran down the hall toward their bedrooms. "Hayaku koi!"

Harry poked his head out of his bedroom with a bewildered expression on his face. "Noodle, what's wrong?" he tried asking. Instead of answering him, she grinned and shoved a camera into his hands. "What's this for?"

"No time! Hayaku koi!" she repeated urgently before grabbing his arm as they ran back down the hall and to the lift.

A few minutes later she'd dragged him all the way out of the building and out on to the main road that lead to _Kong_. Because they almost never had visitors due to the haunted landfill and overall creepiness of their abode, they would sometimes have to go this far out to get packages among other things. As they ran down the road further, Harry could tell that someone must have ordered a big dinner because there was a shabby looking banquet table full of the remnants of food. What looked like a bear was passed out next to the table snoozing blissfully. Upon further inspection, it was just Russel who must have went into a food coma after eating so much rich food.

But that definitely wasn't the weirdest part about the sight before them. 2D was tittering a bit further down the street on what appeared to be Noodle's tricycle that was definitely way too small for him. His dark eyes were narrowed at a simple wooden ramp that was aimed for the slumbering drummer. The ramp reminded Harry of some of the ones he'd seen kids in his neighborhood use for popping wheelies and doing tricks on their bicycles. Harry had never seen anyone attempt to use a trike on one before.

"Noodle-girl, Harry!" and excited voice greeted them as Del's glowing form waved them over from beside the table. "Bout time y'all got here! That cracka's crazy! He really gonna' do it!" the spirit grinned with a mischievous gleam in his eye.

Noodle looked excited at the prospect of 2D imitating Evel Knievel and clapped her hands happily. Then she turned to Harry and pressed the button on the camera her was holding and pointed to the other side of the street. "Over there!"

"Yeah, okay," Harry agreed with a naughty smile of his own. Russel was going to be _sooo_ mad when he woke up! This was going to be so funny! When he got to the other side of the street, he adjusted the camera and focused it on the singer who was now sticking his tongue out in concentration as he pretended to rev his nonexistent engine. His spidery legs were moving up in down in anticipation as he tried to get a feel for the tiny trike. "Oh boy, this is going to be good," Harry muttered to himself as he panned back and fourth from 2D to Noodle and Del who now appeared to be taking bets on if the blue-haired wonder would make it or not.

"When he lets go of that brake, man, it's gonna' be like Evel Knievel's stunt bike plowing through a platoon of whole two-inch plastic German ground troops!" Del surmised as he analyzed the situation with a keen eye.

Noodle gave a soft snort of amusement as she counted a wad of bills that looked suspiciously like monopoly money that she'd fished from her pockets. "Yossa, issen kara go-hyaku agete… doda deru?" she asked, waving the money at him as the ghost snatched it and added it to his pile.

"This is one bet you gonna lose," he warned competitively as she snickered at him.

Harry smiled as he continued to watch their banter through the camera lens. He refocused his view on Russel who was still sound asleep and scratching his crotch. Grimacing, he returned the view to 2D. No one needed to see that!

2D must've finally reached his limit because suddenly he released the brake and began zooming toward them.

"He's never gonna' clear that gut!" Del exclaimed, realizing now that with 2D's speed this one was going to be a no-brainer. "Russel's been taxi and catering all day and he comin' in _waaay_ overweight!"

But at that point it was too late to stop 2D as his trike skid over the ramp. Noodle let out a startled scream and Del shouted "WOAH!" as they all watched as if in slow motion as 2D landed hard on Russel's stomach causing him to wake up immediately with a grunt. 2D's landing was even less graceful as he bounced off and his face met the concrete. He gave a pained whine as he slid to a stop.

Now that Russ was awake, Del's glowing from suddenly seemed to be sucked back in to a very angry looking Russel and the colorful money he'd been holding shot up into the sky like confetti. Noodle happily bounced up and down as she hurriedly tried to capture it all with a smile of victory.

Harry gulped as he watched a livid Russel stomp over to the fallen singer. 2D barely had a chance to look up as the bigger man grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up so that they were eye-level to each other.

"If you keep doing this, man, I'm gonna' be jumpin' you next time you asleep and I don't think neither of us gonna' make it. You dig?" He threatened as the other man cowered a bit looking guilty.

"You mean he's done that before?" Harry asked in surprise as he joined Noodle and flipped the camera off.

Noodle nodded as she finished counting her winnings and shoved them into her pocket unceremoniously. "He gets closer each time," she explained in English with a shrug.

"Hey, little man," Russel greeted, now looking less annoyed. 2D was slowly trailing behind him as if he was too afraid to be in the drummer's line of site at the moment. He was nervously tapping his fingers together and perspiring a bit with a nervous smile on his face.

"Hi, Russ. You've got some money in your ear," Harry laughed, pointing at the monopoly money that had somehow gotten stuck.

Russ blinked his milky eyes in surprise and pulled the wad out revealing a pink $500. "So I do," he chuckled. "Whatchu got there?" he asked, pointing to the camera.

"Oh! Uh… here," his face flushed as he handed Russel the camera. They all crowded around the small screen when he hit a button to replay the scene. At first, Harry had been worried that the bigger man would be annoyed that he'd caught everything on film, but was very relieved when the older man seemed to be amused instead.

"Ya' know," he chuckled as he flipped the camera back off again. "This kinda' looks like somethin' Mudz would be interested in. He was just saying the other day that we needed somethin' fun for PR."

"You really think he'd like it?" Harry asked curiously.

"Wouldn't surprise me, kid," Russ said with a shrug as they all began to head back toward _Kong_. "This is the kinda' thing that would make fans relate to us more. They'd probably dig our shenanigans." When they made it to the car park, Russel pounded his fist to the door of Murdoc's Winnie denting the door a little bit. "Yo, Mudz! Getcha' ass out here. We have something to show ya'!"

There was a crash inside followed by some swearing as the door flew open to reveal Murdoc in just his skivvies with an annoyed look on his face. "Whaddya' want!? I wos watchin' something."

"Maaaaan, put some damn clothes on," Russel sneered in disgust as he shoved the camera at the nearly naked bassist. Harry and Noodle covered their eyes giggling as 2D stood in a daze seemingly uncaring about the interaction.

"It's a free country," Murdoc said with a snort. "Now, wot's this shit?" he asked to himself as he turned it back on and watched for himself. After the recording stopped, he stood in silence with a thoughtful expression on his face. The others watched him expectantly, becoming increasingly uncomfortable the longer he stayed silent. Suddenly he barked a loud laugh that echoed in the darkness causing them all to nearly jump out of their skins. "It's perfect! 'Arry, did you record this? It's gold! You've got a knack, kid!"

"I do?" Harrys asked in disbelief as Murdoc continued to clutch the old camera reverently.

"Oh, yes! This is tha' start of somethin' good! If the fans wan' Gorillaz, they got Gorillaz! We could make all kinds of shorts li' this! We'll call'em G-Bitez," he explained, waiving his hand in an arch as if sharing his vision with them. "They won't be able ter get enough of us! We'll be even more famous than we already are!"

"I fink it's gone to 'is head, it has," 2D whispered to Noodle who nodded absently in agreement.

"Wot was tha', Dents?" Murdoc glared at him with narrowed eyes.

"Oh -um, look at the time," 2D said nervously as he looked around at them. "Uhhh… bye!" he chirped and ran over to his room for safety slamming the door behind him.

"Fuckin' wanker," Murdoc muttered as he removed the tape from the recorder. Then he handed it to Harry. "There shoul' be more tapes in the recordin' booth upstairs. This is yers now, kid. Anythin' you think woul' be interesting about us you can record. You'll give 'em a fresh perspective."

"Mudz, I don't know about making this a chore," Russ said uneasily. "Noods was just trying to get him to have some fun."

"And this _will_ be fun," Murdoc assured him, before fixing his mismatched gaze on Harry again. "This isn't like them ova'night chores you've been sneaking (Harry ducked his head with a blush), I only want you ter record wot _you_ want to, got it? That camera is yours now. An' if yer do record something you think we can use, jus' let one of us know."

"Okay, I understand," Harry nodded. Noodle gave him a friendly pat on the arm.

"Gooood," he purred, "Now the lot of yeh, piss off!" he shouted, slamming the door in their faces.

Russel rolled his eyes at their leader's antics, but he doubted that anyone noticed. "Let's go guys," he said with a huff leading the two children back to the lift.

* * *

 **A/N:** I thought that this could be a fun way to squeeze the ever-favored G-Bitez in there. What do you guys think? I have plans in future chapters to also feature "Fancy Dress" and "Game of Death." They will mostly stick to the script, but I have to be careful with "Fancy Dress" because it says N*z* in it and I don't want to get my story reported for that. So, I'll alter that one a bit lol.

In the next chapter, Snape will come to teach Harry his first Potions lesson!

 **What the heck is Noodle saying!?**

Hayaku Koi! – Come quickly!

Yossa, issen kara go-hyaku agete… doda deru? – Okay Del, I'll see your one thousand and raise you five hundred… How do you like that?


	13. Chapter 13

**Harry Potter and the Flip of a Niccal**

 _By: KKM_

 _Disclaimer:_ I do not own the _Harry Potter_ series or any associated characters. _Harry Potter_ is © J. K. Rowling. I also do not own the _Gorillaz_ or any associated characters/songs. _Gorillaz_ are © Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.

* * *

 **Comments:**

 **Beowolfalien –** Thank you!

 **Mellra –** I love G-Bitez too so I really wanted to incorporate them somehow. You will get to hear about what is going on at Hogwarts and how it is still affecting Harry. Especially in the chapter after this one which would take place during the timeline's Halloween. That's another reason why I wanted Snape connected to Harry somehow. Not only would he be a good resource but also he would be able to maintain his spy identity later on. Plus, I'm thinking that Harry will be an actual student at Hogwarts for his 3rd year (Murdoc goes to prison for a while after the events of Phase 1 in their timeline so Harry would need a place to be) and he would be an unofficial student in year 4 because he will still be in the Triwizard tourney but not as an official Hogwarts Student (Boy, homeschooling Harry sure would have made Barty Crouch's job easier, huh? He doesn't even have to invent a school to trick the goblet!). In those years is also where we will see Harry start making friends and connecting with the students of the wizarding world. I also like the Humanz and the Now Now albums, but unfortunately, they would take place much longer than the timeline I have in mind. After the events in the Battle of Hogwarts we would be going into Plastic Beach which has a very important story line to Harry and the band. From what I am thinking, this story will end after the events in Plastic Beach. I decided not to include the two newest albums yet motly because I am still waiting to get a clear understanding of the new storyline. Especially with rumors of 2D being possessed by HIM from the Power Puff Girls so I am reluctant to extend the story passed Plastic Beach because I don't feel like it would make sense for my story.

 **Mellra (Second Comment)** – I actually really love this idea. My plan was for year 2 to take place while the band is possibly on tour and to also show what happened to cause their first hiatus. I really like your idea to somehow re-include the Dursleys and I hope you don't mind if I think about tweaking it a bit to fit in eventually. I need to think on this. Thank you very much for this idea.

* * *

 **Last Time:**

 _"Fuckin' wanker," Murdoc muttered as he removed the tape from the recorder. Then he handed it to Harry. "There shoul' be more tapes in the recordin' booth upstairs. This is yers now, kid. Anythin' you think woul' be interesting about us you can record. You'll give 'em a fresh perspective."_

" _Mudz, I don't know about making this a chore," Russ said uneasily. "Noods was just trying to get him to have some fun."_

" _And this will be fun," Murdoc assured him, before fixing his mismatched gaze on Harry again. "This isn't like them ova'night chores you've been sneaking (Harry ducked his head with a blush), I only want you ter record wot you want to, got it? That camera is yours now. An' if yer do record something you think we can use, jus' let one of us know."_

" _Okay, I understand," Harry nodded. Noodle gave him a friendly pat on the arm._

" _Gooood," he purred, "Now the lot of yeh, piss off!" he shouted, slamming the door in their faces._

 _Russel rolled his eyes at their leader's antics, but he doubted that anyone noticed. "Let's go guys," he said with a huff leading the two children back to the lift._

* * *

 **Chapter 13:** **The Bat of the Dungeons**

 _"Flipendo!"_ Harry cried out with a wave of his wand causing the sack of flour to soar backwards and it the wall with a dull thud. A small puff of white escaped as the bag slid down to the floor.

"Excellent work, Harry!" Remus praised, clapping his hands. "That was a quick mastery of the knockback jinx. I'd say you've got a real knack for defense."

"Thanks," Harry felt his cheeks grow warm as he slipped his wand back into his wrist holster. "You really think so?"

"I know so. Ah, your father would have been so proud. He was an Auror, you know," the werewolf said with a small smile. His eyes were glazed over slightly in nostalgia.

"What's an Auror?" Harry asked, leaning forward with curiosity. Over the past two weeks he'd been delighted to learn more about his parents from the shabby professor. He'd never met anyone so willing to talk about them. At first, he'd been a bit shy to either ask or talk about them. On one hand he didn't want the professor to think that he was only interested in them instead of his studies, but on the other he was insanely curious about them. But Remus never took offense to any of his inquiries and always seemed genuinely pleased to quench his thirst for knowledge on his deceased parents.

He'd also been very nervous to talk about what he'd learned with his new family. But he was quickly coming to realize that they didn't mind him sharing what he'd learned in the slightest. Besides Murdoc, the rest of the band had never met Lily Evans and none of them had ever met James. But they would all sit in the livingroom and listen to Harry re-tell Remus' stories about his prankster father and their gang of marauders. Harry had worried that maybe Murdoc might get annoyed considering he was now Harry's current parent, but instead the bassist had smirked and listened with the rest of them. Everyone was just pleased that Harry was so happy! They would never dare ruin such a wonderful thing for him.

"Goodness me!" Remus jumped as his alarm went off on his wand causing it to vibrate noisily against the wooden surface of the round table signaling that their time for the day was now at an end. With a flick of his wrist, the alarm stopped and he pocketed his wand with a chuckle. "Harry, where did the time go? It's nearly time for your new tutor to come!"

"Do you know him?" Harry asked as he obediently started to put away his books on the shelf on the other side of the room. "I think dad said his name was Snape or something."

"Oh yes, I know Severus very well," Remus nodded, though his smile became curiously tight as he banished the sack of flour. Harry absently hoped it would end up somewhere in the kitchen or he and Russel might have to go shopping again. "He doesn't like me very much, I'm afraid." Remus explained with a shrug. "He never got on with your father or our little group of friends. He did however know your mother quite well, if I'm not mistaken."

"Really? Do you think he'd tell me about her?" He turned around excitedly. While Remus was full of stories about his father, he hadn't really shared much about his mother's younger years. He'd been in the same year as Lilly, of course. But he hadn't really befriended her until his sixth year so anything before then was rather vague than telling. When Harry noticed the pained look on Remus' face however, his smiled faded to a concerned frown. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, Harry. Of course not," Remus shook his head with a sigh. "It's just… Severus is not the most _open_ person. From what I remember he has always valued privacy above all else. As for your mom… they had a bit of a falling out later in their school years. Just before your parents got together really. He might tell you small things with time… or perhaps none at all," he finished awkwardly, running a hand through his bland hair.

"Do you know what they fought about?" Harry asked, wanting to press the issue further. But to his surprise, this seemed to be one of the few topics that Remus did not feel should be divulged.

"I'm truly sorry, Harry. That's really not my story to tell." He said somewhat sheepishly as he grabbed his worn traveling case and began to leave the room. "Just be respectful and maybe he will open up to you some day. From what I hear, Severus can be rather strict. He's a professor at Hogwarts now, you see. So, make sure you study hard and show him that you are as willing to learn as you are with me. If you show him respect, then maybe someday you will get the answers you seek."

"Okay, Remus," Harry promised as the traveled down the hall and into the livingroom so that they could get to the special fireplace that Murdoc had had built for easier floo traveling considering both of Harry's tutors were traveling some way to get to _Kong_. Unlike the new tutor, Remus had been offered a room in their home to stay. But the werewolf had politely declined as he was not quite ready to share his furry little problem with his new friends just yet. Thanks to the Ministry's strict rules against those with his affliction, he did not want to risk such a good job opportunity. Though if he was honest with himself, he doubted this particular lot would hold it against him much. But there was always that slight fearin the back of his troubled mind…

Before Remus could say his goodbyes, they both jumped with a start as the fireplace suddenly activated with a woosh of green flames and a rather dour looking man came through with purpose. This man was quite literally the sternest looking person Harry had ever laid eyes on. Harry was sure that the severe look in his narrowed black eyes would even make the Dursleys blanch and dive for cover. He was tall with shoulder length greasy har and in robes as dark and foreboding as a midnight storm. Even his dragonhide boots that were just visible under his traveling cloak gave the man an air of someone who was constantly prepared no matter what dangers lay ahead.

Even still, Harry had planned on greeting the man politely and introducing himself. However, that never came to pass because as soon as the newcomer saw Remus, his face scrunched into a sneer of intense loathing as he took in the other man's appearance right down to the other man's poorly kept mustache.

 _"Lupin,"_ The name was whispered in an almost deadly whisper that gave Harry the distinct impression that his favorite tutor's mere presence seemed to offend this newcomer. "Niccals told me there was another tutor, but I hadn't fathomed he'd have been so desperate."

"Well, hello to you too Severus." Remus greeted with a mischievous smile, not at all seeming concerned. For such a rude greeting, he seemed rather calm to Harry; almost resigned to the other man's behavior it seemed. "I had hoped to leave before your arrival but now I see the point is moot. As pleasant as this has been, I think I will take my leave now." He sighed and pointedly looked in Harry's direction before returning his gaze and raising his eyebrows in what could only be mild sarcasm.

Severus followed his gaze to the wide-eyed child beside the wolf and grimaced mentally to himself. This was not how he planned to start his time here. "The pleasure was all mine, _Lupin_ ," the name dripped from his lips like a dreadful poison. "If I see you again it will only be too soon."

"And I wouldn't expect any less," he said pleasantly before turning to Harry as if in dismissal. If Harry hadn't known any better, he'd think that Remus was goading the man by being as perfectly cordial as possible on purpose. Harry would have laughed if the situation hadn't been so abrupt and awkward. "I will see you next lesson, Harry. Study up and keep practicing your spells."

"Yes, sir," Harry replied with a nod. He watched as the man gave him a wink before turning and walking past Severus with a polite nod before disappearing in a whirlwind of flames all his own.

Professor Snape's dark eyes strayed to the fireplace with a look of inhospitable contempt before his cold gaze turned and fixed on the boy in front of him. Eyes similar and yet so different from Lilly's stared back at him. They were the same shade, but those black rings around them made them glimmer almost brighter. Though he could see some Lilly and even some Murdoc due to the blood adoption, there was still no mistaking that this was his rival's son. He had Potter's hair and face and considering what the boy had just witnessed between his tutors, he even had a familiar frown of defiance on his youthful face. Severus quirked his eyebrow challengingly at the look.

"I suppose you must be Mr. Potter," he greeted with a drawl. "I am Professor Snape. You will either address me as such or 'Sir.' Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir." Harry replied stiffly, already not caring for how this man was talking to him. Remus had obviously been downplaying this man's less charming personality traits.

"Hn," Snape nodded his approval and then with a swish of his robes lead them out of the room and back down the hall. How he knew which room was the makeshift classroom, Harry could only guess. "Come, Potter. We have much to discuss and so little time." Behind him, Harry looked slightly put out. He wondered vaguely if he should correct his new professor on his name. Then he shook his head to himself. No, he would at least try to be respectful to this… apparently stubborn man. He had promised Remus after all.

As Harry went to the bookshelf to grab a notebook and the proper books, Severus surveyed the classroom in disapproval. With a flick of his wand, the round table shrank to a proper school desk. The chalk board was adequate, so he did not change that. He did transfigure and eraser into a decent sized desk for himself though. While Remus had taken a friendly more open approach, it was easy to see that Professor Snape preferred the authoritarian teaching method if his renovations to the classroom were anything to go by.

Sitting in his seat, Harry watched in wonder as the older man pulled something small from his pocket and then muttered something causing it to enlarge to a rather good-sized traveling case. Then the stern professor quickly and efficiently pulled out different perfectly labeled jars of strange looking things and two cauldrons which he shoved to the side. Once he was done, he nodded and then stood straighter as he focused on his lone student with a fierce hawk-like gaze.

"I have been asked by your… _father_ to help teach you the subtle art of potions as well has some herbology. Herbology will be very important as you progress with your potions studies because you will need to be able to quickly identify several types of plants as well as other ingredients and retain knowledge of their properties. Different plants have different reactions and the wrong ingredients can spell disaster," he explained, immediately going right into impressive teacher mode. His tone and the manner in which he articulated each carefully crafted phrase easily drew Harry's attention like a moth to flame. This man was obviously very gifted at commanding a room.

Harry hurriedly flipped open a notebook and quickly started to jot down notes as the man continued on. He didn't use a quill like a traditional Hogwarts student and instead much preferred the ballpoint pen which prevented any unnecessary ink blots to taint his already nearly illegible handwriting.

"There will be little foolish wand waving here. I doubt you will hardly believe this is magic and I don't expect you to really understand the beauty of a softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensuring the senses…" Here, he trailed off to almost a whisper as his dark gaze seemed to linger on the empty cauldrons he'd stacked not too far away. Then his eyes snapped back to Harry's with intensity. "I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even stopper death – _if_ you aren't as much of a dunderhead as I usually have to teach," he said with a snort before breaking eye contact to flick his wand at the chalkboard which was suddenly covered in notes from chapter one in elegantly drawn script.

Harry blinked stupidly at the board wondering if this man was slightly bipolar. Moments ago with Remus he'd practically been a fire breathing dragon and now he was practically an international man of mystery with a teaching style that had a flare for dramatics. Somehow his persona demanded attention in the strictest of forms. Harry didn't know if he should be mystified or annoyed.

"Now, we'll see what you already know," Snape said suddenly as he turned back to Harry and crossed his arms as he scrutinized his newest pupil. "Potter, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry's eyes widened and his mind went blank. Though he'd been excited to read about his other schoolbooks, he hadn't had a chance to flip through this man's subjects. He'd hoped that maybe this tutor's style might've been similar to Remus where the read and discussed the material together before practical application. He hadn't thought his new tutor would start with a pop quiz on the first day.

"Um," Harry paused, swallowing unpleasantly. "I don't know, sir."

Snape's eyes narrowed as his lips curled into a small sneer of displeasure. "Let's try again… Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Harry's lips involuntarily twitched at the at the weird word, causing his mentor's scowl to darken as he once again replied, "I don't know, sir."

Severus closed his eyes and appeared to mentally count to ten. "Tell me, Mister Potter, did it not occur to you to look through your book _before_ I arrived?" He didn't give Harry a chance to answer before he sighed and tried another question. "What is the difference between monskhood and wolfsbane?"

"I don't know," Harry admitted again, and then looked down at his unopened book in frustration. "I never got a chance to look through the book, sir. I'd meant to, but…" he trailed off feeling his cheeks warm in embarrassment at his performance thus far.

There was a moment of silence before Snape grumbled something to himself and then spoke again, "For your information, asphodel and wormwood create a sleeping powder so powerful that it is commonly known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone found in the stomach of a goat and can save you from most ingested poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant," he tapped one of the glass jars as he spoke indicating that it was the plant he was currently referring to. "It also goes by aconite in some fields of study," he added absently before pausing again, "Well? Are you going to write this down?" he asked in a snide tone as Harry continued to stare up at him. That last remark caused young Harry to sputter into action as he quickly scribbled down the notes in his broken scrawl.

The next hour or so wasn't terribly difficult as Professor Snape went over the notes he'd written on the board in detail. He explained that during the first potions lesson of the year for first years he would normally have them do a cure for boils. Before they brewed this together, however, he wanted to go over basic lab safety and how to recognize the ingredients needed for the first potion.

When he was properly satisfied that they had discussed everything, the Potions Master tapped the board and numbered instructions began to appear. This is where things began to go a bit pear-shaped for Harry.

Under the Professor's watchful eyes, he picked the correct ingredients from the pile of jars and began to do the prep work. Due to his past experiences in his Aunt's kitchen, he had no problems cutting in specific ways or even crushing certain ingredients. It was the timing and the stirring that became the bane of his existence.

In a normal classroom environment there would have been other students and Professor Snape would have weaved his way throughout them dividing his time to each bubbling cauldron. Here, however, Harry was his only student. This caused… _hovering_. Harry winced as Professor Snape caught each and every mistake as he picked apart the young boy's technique in a very caustic tone that was grating terribly on his nerves.

Where this would cause some students to be fearful of such an overbearing presence, it was causing young Harry to get very angry. His hands began to tremble after each mordant comment.

"No, _left_ you little fool. Can't you read the directions?" Snape was snarking when Harry suddenly tossed his ladle down in frustration as he glared down at the bubbling mess. "Are you daft? What are you doing!? If you don't keep stirring then the whole thing will be ruined and you'll have wasted both of our time!"

" _Stop,_ " Harry strained as he grinded his slightly pointed teeth in agitation. This man was driving him crazy. His nagging was even in rival to his Aunt Petunia on her best days. "I can't take it anymore! How am I supposed to get anything done with you breathing down my neck?" he asked, his green eyes flashing towards blazing obsidian.

"Excuse me?" Snape said in an appalled tone as the calm façade he'd exuded earlier began to quickly deteriorate. "Listen here, you little ingrate! It is my duty to make sure that you complete your potion safely and don't blow yourself up! Or are you too arrogant to follow simple instructions, Potter?"

"It's Potter-Niccals to you!" Harry retorted rudely. Normally he wouldn't be rude to an adult, but something about this man challenged his temper. "Why are you acting like such a greasy git? I haven't done anything to you and your belittling me like I'm dung under your toe. You were even mean to Remus earlier and he didn't do anything to you. What is wrong with you!?"

" _What did you call me?_ " Snape's sallow face paled with cold rage. He no longer could remember that this was Lilly's child. All he could see was the same defiance and arrogance that James Potter had exuded so many years ago. "I'll have you know that I'm here on my own time for _your_ sake, you ungrateful little brat! I've never been so disrespected by a student in my life!"

"Well maybe it's time someone told you to get over yourself!" Harry growled back now channeling the Niccals' famous short temper. "You don't even _know_ me and you immediately decided I was just some dumb kid!"

Their shouting drew the attention of the other house guests into the livingroom as Professor Snape angrily banished the now ruined potion and stormed from the room in the direction of the floo. "I do not have to deal with this! I get enough of it at that infernal school," he growled, his eyes meeting Murdoc's now equally grumpy face as he grabbed a hand full of floo powder. "None of my students have _ever_ talked to me this way! I refuse to come back and teach that insufferable little toad sprog. He's _worse_ than his father was at that age!"

"Oh, get ova' yourself, ya' overgrown bat!" Murdoc rolled his eyes, ignoring Harry's flushed face as his son entered the room and glared at the furious Potions Master. "Don't be so over-dramatic. You know yeh prolly deserved a dressin' down. 'Arry wouldn't have talked ter yeh like tha' unless you said something… pricklier than usual. Thank of wot we talked about, _seriously_."

Severus bared his teeth at the green man, taking offense. However, somewhere deep within him he knew that he would not give up so easily on Lily's child. Perhaps he had been a bit… overzealous. His dark eyes returned to the upset child and his scowl deepened. "Hear me now, you will _never_ talk to me like that again if you ever want my help. I admit I was more cross with you than I could have been, but I do not allow students to address me with anything other than respect." When Harry and the other occupants of the room stayed silent, he continued. "If and when I decide to come back, I expect that you will have written me a twenty-four inch essay on why that potion was ruined and how the affects could have been dangerous."

"When you come back it will be all too soon," Harry muttered under his breath, looking petulant as he repeated the Professor's own words to Remus just a few hours prior. The Potions Master gave him a sour look before tossing the floo powder at the fire and growling his destination and disappearing in a violent explosion of emerald flame.

"Such a dramatic git," Murdoc said, shaking his head.

Much to Harry's disdain and Murdoc's amusement Snape did return for the next lesson on time as if nothing had happened. Harry reluctantly gave him the scroll he had begrudgingly written and oddly enough they had no further issues that lesson. Murdoc thought that perhaps it had been for the best that they had hashed out their differences. Even the next time Snape had accidentally bumped into Remus he'd been perfectly cordial. It was a good change and it gave him hope that Harry would still receive a good education while under his roof.

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm not going to lie - this chapter was super difficult to write! I had to re-write it quite a few times and I am still not all together happy with it, lol. Like the first time I wrote it, Idk what happened but Snape was super extra and had pulled a wand on Remus who'd been a bit too sarcastic and I was like how did that happen? Then I was like, I can't have Remus purposely snub him after he just told Harry to try and play nice so I went with passive aggressive banter… sort of. Idk, like there would be bad blood but there would be a common goal sort of thing.

Snape's monologue about potions was taken from the book with a few tweaks because I wanted to add the bit about herbology. I left out the whole celebrity part of the altercation because it would not have made sense for him to berate Harry about that since Murdoc told him what had happened. Hopefully you guys like it. I'm on the fence lol.

Kind of an Easter egg - I used _Flipendo_ because this was the first spell you learned how to cast in Defense Against the Dark Arts in the original _Harry Potter: The Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone_ video game back in the day on PC. I loved that game.

I am very much looking forward to the next chapter because Harry will experience his first ever Halloween celebration. However, will a certain Dark Lord ruin his fun? Also, we'll see another G-Bitez ep in action – Fancy Dress!

Stick around! R/R/F please!


	14. Chapter 14

**Harry Potter and the Flip of a Niccal**

 _By: KKM_

 _Disclaimer:_ I do not own the _Harry Potter_ series or any associated characters. _Harry Potter_ is © J. K. Rowling. I also do not own the _Gorillaz_ or any associated characters/songs. _Gorillaz_ are © Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.

* * *

 **Comments:**

 **Beowolfalien –** Thank you!

 **Mellra –** Thank you for your comment!Unfortunately, I do not want to reveal too much about the future because I want there to be a natural progression between Harry and each of the band members (plus, this story will honestly take me quite a while to finish). I feel that if I reveal different aspects of what is planned, then it might not have as big of an effect or too many people will try and give their "two cents" so to speak. As for right now Harry is just 11 and any types of relationships that he may have in the future are much too later in the storyline to think about now. I will say that I do not want any future romantic inclinations to affect the story line and that this story will not be written with romance in mind. Instead it will focus mostly on the father/son dynamic of Murdoc and Harry as well as showcase a way that the two storylines can co-exist. Thank you again!

* * *

 **Last Time:**

 _Severus bared his teeth at the green man, taking offense. However, somewhere deep within him he knew that he would not give up so easily on Lily's child. Perhaps he had been a bit… overzealous. His dark eyes returned to the upset child and his scowl deepened. "Hear me now, you will never talk to me like that again if you ever want my help. I admit I was more cross with you than I could have been, but I do not allow students to address me with anything other than respect." When Harry and the other occupants of the room stayed silent, he continued. "If and when I decide to come back, I expect that you will have written me a twenty-four inch essay on why that potion was ruined and how the affects could have been dangerous."_

 _"When you come back it will be all too soon," Harry muttered under his breath, looking petulant as he repeated the Professor's own words to Remus just a few hours prior. The Potions Master gave him a sour look before tossing the floo powder at the fire and growling his destination and disappearing in a violent explosion of emerald flame._

 _"Such a dramatic git," Murdoc said, shaking his head._

 _Much to Harry's disdain and Murdoc's amusement Snape did return for the next lesson on time as if nothing had happened. Harry reluctantly gave him the scroll he had begrudgingly written and oddly enough they had no further issues that lesson. Murdoc thought that perhaps it had been for the best that they had hashed out their differences. Even the next time Snape had accidentally bumped into Remus he'd been perfectly cordial. It was a good change and it gave him hope that Harry would still receive a good education while under his roof._

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Things of Nightmares**

Murdoc had been keeping a close eye on his son lately. The fact that today was Halloween, the day Harry's parents had died, was surprisingly not the only reason. No, there were things much more troubling than that.

After Harry's initial blow-up on his first day of potions, Noodle had taken to dragging the young wizard with her to meditate and to also teach him some of her karate techniques. Murdoc had no problems with this because Harry seemed to be doing better at keeping his temper around the cantankerous Potions Master and the exercises seemed to be a nice outlet for the boy to let off some steam.

Unfortunately, Murdoc was noticing other areas of concern that he and the others were not so sure about how to deal with. At the beginning of the month, Harry began having strange night terrors. Sometimes, he would wake up panicky with cold sweats and other times he would wake the other residents of _Kong_ with horrible heart-wrenching screams. Each time, Murdoc had made sure he was there. He was not the warmest person on the planet, but he wanted to make sure that his son knew that he cared. Usually he would let Russel do the mushy stuff like sitting on Harry's bed to talk him through what happened. But all the same, he was always in the room leaning against the wall or sitting in the armchair as he watched on in silent support. His presence seemed to always calm the youth down enough to tell them about his dreams.

The dreams themselves were very troubling. Every now and then they'd be the normal impossible dreams that a child would have that might seem scary to a kid. More than once, Harry had told them about a three headed dog that would growl menacingly and viciously bite at him. Other times they would be much worse and both himself and Russel would pale at the implications. Afterall, how often was it that a child would relay hearing a woman's scream and a flash of green light? It left little to the imagination of what that dream was and on those nights were always Harry's strongest reactions. Murdoc found it even more confounding that besides fear, Harry had confided that he'd felt horribly angry in those dreams. Yes, the green man had been very blunt on the roof back when Harry had first joined them about who had killed his parents. But he wasn't so sure that now was the right time to tell the kid that he was actually dreaming of that exact night. It would be a very hard topic. He would eventually talk to Harry in depth about it, but right now he was more concerned about his child's mental health.

Feeling that it was important to have more eyes on the situation, Murdoc had told both Remus and Severus about what Harry was experiencing. This way if they noticed anything, they could keep an eye on Harry for him. Remus had reported back that Harry was beginning to experience frequent headaches in his classes. Snape too had noted that the boy seemed more tired than usual. But in typical Snape style, he'd also commented that his student was probably like all the rest he had taught and was really either just doing it for attention or out of laziness. Murdoc rolled his eyes at that, but knew how to read between the lines. That both tutors were noticing changes disturbed him greatly.

His thoughts became disrupted when he heard the floo flare to life.

"I GO' EET!" 2D yelled at the top of his lungs as he ran down the hall covered in toilet paper from his mummy costume, knocking Mudz over in the process. "Sorry, Mudz!" he called back over his shoulder, not pausing even as he lost a couple squares of tissue in his hurry.

"'Oi!" Murdoc yelled as he slowly got up and rubbed his sore behind. "Bleedin' arsehole," he grumbled unpleasantly under his breath. He sneered down at his now rumpled German officer uniform and shook his fist in the air. "I'll get you back for tha', Tusspot!"

But 2D didn't seem to hear as he was already in the livingroom greeting their guest with enthusiasm. Remus gave the younger man a bit of an embarrassed look as 2D shoved a poorly wrapped package at him.

Since your goin' trick o' treatin' wif us tonight, I made you a costume," 2D was saying with a large grin as he practically bounced up and down in excitement causing the torn bits of his own costume to flap up and down. His white wrappings seemed to make him look even more awkwardly tall and gangly, but his sunken eyes were shining in joy. Halloween was his favorite time of the year! "I hope yeh like it. Russ an' 'Arry helped me make it, but I designed it!"

"You didn't have to go through all that trouble, Stuart," Remus said politely as he began to unwrap it with nimble fingers. Truth be told, he was very touched that his blue-haired friend had been thoughtful enough to think of making him a costume. Remus did not spend money frivolously due to having troubles keeping steady jobs and had not bought a Halloween costume for himself. He'd accepted the offer to come along but had never fathomed that they would make a costume for him. However, as he opened the package, his eyes widened as he pulled out a furry hooded jumpsuit with ears. "Uhhh…" he trailed off, paling slightly.

"It's a werewolf costume!" 2D explained, either not noticing or completely ignoring the shocked look on the other man's face. "It's from one o' my favorite movies, _An American Werewolf in Paris._ Yer always sick 'round tha' full moon so I thought it was perfect! It reminded me o' you an'… Remus, you alrigh' mate?"

Remus was holding onto the costume a bit shakily and his hands were trembling slightly. "I… remind you of a w-werewolf?" he stammered, his mind working on overdrive.

"Well, o'course you do. Tha' main characta' is a nice enough bloke an' always does wot's right! Plus…" 2D trailed off getting slightly starry eyed as he clasped his hands together, "Werewolves are _cool._ "

"Oh, I s-see," Remus' cheeks turned slightly red as he witnessed the horror buff's obvious love of werewolves. Remus cleared his throat and looked down at the soft jumpsuit in his hands thoughtfully. He was now reasonably sure that this was just a strange coincidence… maybe. Honestly, he wasn't quite sure what to think at the moment, but it was obvious that the bluenette had put a lot of thought into this costume and it really was well made. He didn't want to hurt the other man's feelings by rejecting it. So instead, he smiled. "Thank you, I'll go put it on now.

"Excellent! But yeh betta' hurry! Mudz was wantin' tha' band to record a message to tha' fans and then we're gonna' go."

Not long after that, the band met up in the studio. Harry was dressed as a pirate with Hedwig perched comfortably on his shoulder. Since it was Halloween, they had figured that most people would think she was a prop so Harry had been given permission to take her along with them later tonight. He and Murdoc were currently fiddling with the camera while the other band mates got ready. Remus was sitting beside Harry as he watched the others mess around. 2D was currently walking around the set with his hands outstretched and his tongue sticking through the gap in his teeth. Russel was dressed up as silent film actor Charlie Chapman in a nice suite with a small rounded top hat and a little mustache on his face. Noodle was polishing a golden sheriff's badge on her costume with a small smile on her face.

"Hang on, hang on!" Murdoc instructed, not realizing that Harry had slyly pressed play causing the bassist to have a rather unflattering close-up as he messed with the focus on the camera lens. "Oh yeah, tha's it! This is gonna' look great!" he smirked before running back to the others.

This caused Russel to get his first look at their leader's more than slightly offensive costume choice. "Oh man," he groaned out in his low baritone. "Where'd you get that outfit? You can't go dressin' up as a God damned German officer, you cracker-ass." *

"Why not?" Murdoc gave a snort, "If it's good enough for Lemmy, Keith Richards, and Leonard Nimoy, then it's good enough for me," he fired back with an over-dramatized chuckle.

2D, oblivious to the argument, continued zombie-walking in the background making little groaning noises. Noodle too looked to be ignoring them, only she'd tilted her head slightly to hear them better. With her large sunglasses it was difficult to make out if she was really looking at them or not so Harry had zoomed in on them for a moment before zooming back out to focus on the unfolding drama instead.

"Well, you ain't them!" Russ was informing him matter-o-factly, obviously getting annoyed at the older man.

"NEITHER ARE THEY!" Murdoc exclaimed, beginning to lose his temper. "Who's idea was this anyway?" he muttered stubbornly, trying to play it off.

"It was _your_ s!" Russel said, shaking a finger in his face as he complained in earnest looking disgusted. " _I_ have an appreciation for fine clothes…" he trailed off looking suddenly thoughtful as he tossed the hat away hitting 2D (who ignored it) and began muttering about petticoats and diamante shoes. He didn't seem to notice Murdoc grinding his teeth or the other man's eye twitch as he mentioned the _Wizard of Oz._

"Well, why didn't anyone tell _meee_ it was crap!?" Murdoc growled, fidgeting with the little prop whip he'd brought with him. Unfortunately, just then his pants fell down and Harry quickly pressed the off button as he laughed out loud.

"Oh man, I can't wait to edit that later," he snickered to Remus as Murdoc quickly pulled his trousers back up and marched off of the set in a huff to go change his costume. "Come on, let's go get our stuff so that we can go trick-or-treating!" Harry suggested as they all began leaving the studio.

Russel had decided to go to a party so he wasn't with them as Harry, Remus, 2D, Noodle and Murdoc (now dressed in his normal black clothes with his upside-down golden cross) all gathered in the livingroom. They were just about to leave when the floo suddenly roared to life startling them all as a very haggard looking Snape limped into the room with a frown.

"Severus, are you bleeding?" Remus asked in concern, able to smell the blood due to his heightened senses. However, the stern man ignored him in favor of frowning at the resident Satanist instead.

"Niccals, I need to speak with you right away," he said, getting to the point. His dark eyes roamed over their troupe in distaste. "Preferably alone and _without_ the wolf," he added as Remus began to step toward him. The normally shabby dressed man gave him a warning glare, however since he was technically dressed as a wolf, he let the comment slide.

Murdoc was looking at the man with a silently calculating expression. Though he'd honestly wanted to see Harry's first holiday as a happy child, he could tell that whatever had prompted this unannounced visit was very important. His mismatched eyes flickered to the troubled look on Harry's face before returning his gaze to Snape. "Fine," he nodded in acceptance, then turned his focus back to the now disappointed child. "Ah, don' give me tha' look. You'll have fun enough with this lot," he promised. "Go on, you c'n tell me all about it tonight. But yeh betta' give me some good stories later when yeh trick, yeah?"

"I will, I promise," Harry grinned with a mischievous glint in his eyes. He and Murdoc had come up with several fun tricks they could play on people who didn't give out candy.

"Tha's a good lad," Murdoc said proudly, patting him on the head before leading the limping professor from the room. "Alrigh' Snape, What's got yeh knickers in such a twist this time?" They didn't hear the man's response as instead they all climbed into the lift and made their way down to the GEEP. Since Russel and Murdoc weren't with them, Remus had the honor of driving the famous vehicle.

The night started off great as the four went from neighborhood to neighborhood and house to house. There were a couple of houses that did not give candy. When that happened, Harry and Noodle delighted in TPing their houses (had Remus known that Murdoc had taught Harry a nearly permanent sticking charm, he probably would _not_ have been so amused about this). But for the most part, the pirate known as Harry was quite happy with his haul so far. Even Hedwig had stolen a treat or two from his bucket.

Everything had been going fine and Harry was just about to show Noodle one of his favorite candies when the worst headache of his life suddenly hit him. His scar felt like it was exploding! He let out a yelp of pain and fell to his knees causing his bucket of candy to drop everywhere and for Hedwig to fly off with a startled squawk. He was vaguely aware of hands on his forehead and worried voices, but he couldn't make them out. Instead his mind focused on the pain in his scar and the horrible anger raging war on his mind. Then, when it all became too much, he blacked out.

Murdoc had never had never had such a stressful Halloween. Severus had told him in private about how he suspected that one of the Dark Lord's minions was at Hogwarts. Because of a promise he made to himself after Lily's death, he could not ignore something that could possibly lead to the boy to harm and had decided that he would tell Murdoc what he knew to better help him protect Harry.

He had told him about a stuttering man named Quirinus Quirrell whom had taken the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts that year and how he did not trust him. Murdoc had kept perfectly silent as Snape had told him the story of how a troll of all things had been let into the school and instead of that bumbling idiot taking care of the beast, the man had run and caused a scene in the great hall where he'd passed out and then just as suddenly disappeared in the chaos. A student had almost been killed if it hadn't been for a student named Weasley and another named Longbottom.

But this had made Snape very suspicious because this man was apparently well known for his ability to _tame_ trolls. Why would this one be any different? It had apparently been a runt and there had been nothing particularly terrifying about it. No, Snape suspected that the man had caused a diversion to get to something that was hidden in the castle. He had not been able to tell Murdoc what was hidden due to a magically binding contract, but he was able to describe something else that had made the green man's blood run cold.

He had tried to head the man off in a corridor that he claimed housed a Cerberus.

How many times now had his son woken up crying with dreams about a ferocious three-headed dog? Murdoc had lost count. But surely this didn't bode well. Was it possible that Harry had seer blood or was this something more sinister?

It was hours after Snape had left that the lift had suddenly burst open and instead of seeing happy faces full of sticky candy, he had found fearful looks of worry as Remus carried Harry's limp body to him. After a brief explanation from them of what had happened, Murdoc had carried his son back to the child's room and tucked him in. He spent the whole night watching vigilantly from the armchair in the corner of the room.

It was all connected; it had to be! There was no other explanation for it.

"D-dad?" a scratchy voice broke through his brooding. Seeing that Harry was trying to sit up, Murdoc stood and offered him some water that he'd brought into the room earlier in the night. Harry gratefully took several long gulps from the glass before pushing it away and looking up at the man tiredly. He'd never seen the normally carefree man look so stressed before. "What happened?"

Murdoc sat back down with a sigh and eyed Harry for a long time before speaking. "It's come ter my attention that yer somehow seein' wot's happening at Hogwarts," Murdoc tried to explain. "I don't know how, bu' that dog yeh been dreamin' about is real and it's protectin' something at the school. Ol' Snape seems to think this has somethin' ter do with Voldemort. Considerin' wot happened at tha' school today an' yer episode, I think it's connected."

"But what's at Hogwarts? What does that have to do with me passing out?" Harry asked, looking both curious and frustrated.

"I don't know," Murdoc answered him honestly. "I have no idea wot's so bleedin' important at that school an' I don't know why yeh visions are causing you pain. Bu' I _do_ know that it's obviously no' something that's good fo' yah."

"Then what can we do?" Harry asked with a frown, feeling very uncertain about how to handle this information.

"We fight it, o' course," Murdoc said with a small smirk, trying to cheer him up a bit. "Niccals have always been good at fightin' the tough shit. I 'ave some ideas," he explained. "I think tha' maybe it woul' help for yeh to 'ave more control over yer mind. That would help you in focusing on yer studies and protectin' yourself."

"How would I do that?" Harry asked, trying not to look ashamed at being called out for not putting his whole effort in his studies.

"There's a few things yeh could try. There's a branch o' magic called occlumency. I've neva' been very good at it, bu' Snape might know it if we asked 'im," he chuckled as he watched the boy wrinkle his nose at that idea. "I think your meditation or woteva' with Noodle was prolly a step in the right direction too."

"What do you do to clear your mind?" Harry asked curiously. Besides moments like now, for the most part he felt that the older man seemed to be mostly level-headed unless he was acting a certain way on purpose to throw people off.

"Well," the Satanist began awkwardly, "ter be honest, focusing on my religion has always helped."

"I don't really know much about religion," Harry admitted. "I know Aunt Petunia was Catholic, but I don't really remember them ever attending a mass except at Christmas and I wasn't allowed to go."

At this admission, Murdoc looked extremely uncomfortable but still wanted to at least try to be helpful. "Religion is something yeh 'ave ter figure out yourself. It works fer some people an' not at all for others."

"I understand," Harry nodded, looking thoughtful. "I will think about it and I will ask Noodle about meditating more," he promised.

The older man almost seemed to sag in relief that the subject had been dropped and then he gave his son a small smirk. "Tha's the ticket, kid. Now, get some mo' rest," he ordered as he got more comfortable in his chair.

Harry smiled in the darkness at the thought of the green man watching over him as he slept. Murdoc may have had the whole world fooled into thinking he was some kind of hard-ass. But Harry felt he knew the truth behind the famous Murdoc Niccals.

* * *

 **A/N:** Happy Halloween! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I had fun embarrassing Remus with 2D's costume choice for him, lol. Also, I know that it seems a little out of order that Snape would tell Murdoc what happened before Harry passed out but I felt this worked well for what I wanted. I'd assume that once Quirrell was safely in his rooms after being questioned by Dumbledore (assuming he would have been questioned…), that Voldemort would have definitely punished the man for failing. So, the anger that Harry is being affected by is supposed to represent when that would have occurred. Tell me what you think!

*I changed Russel's words here because I don't want my story taken down because of a word in passing. I've seen it happen before to others so I didn't want to push it. I'm sure that we all know which "German Officers" Russel was talking about in the Fancy Dress skit.

Please read, review, and fav!


End file.
